General or Specific Knowledge?
 

As a newbie programmer, I'm just trying to make some sense of the wealth of information out there, and I'd like to get some opinions on what is more valuable in the IT sector. Is it better to be a "jack of all trades, master of none", or is it better to be an expert in one field or technology (i.e. web development)?

The main reason I ask is becuase it's hard for me to answe rthe question "What do you want to do?"

I can only answer that with "I want to program." I'm interested in technology period, whether it's very low level assembly or networking, or the latest web framework, or game design.

Granted, for now, I'm just learning on my own and playing around, but I will be going back to school soon to finish my bachelor's in Computer Science, so this may even be a moot point. I just want to know where to focus my energies on for now.

Thanks,
Phil

Flexibility will make you valuable... pick a "realm" and know it well, but do not hessitate to expand your knowledge in other directions. Client-Server, Database, AI, etc. I think adapting to other areas / languages is just second nature to most people who have the mindset of a programmer... I'm always looking for ways to improve, be it design, tools or the language itself.

Jack of several trades, master of a few.

In my opinion, it's the "Jack of all trades" option, for two reasons.

Firstly, technology changes. Specialising in a particular field won't do you much good when the market discovers the next big thing. A generalist can adapt more easily, as they have a wider range of experience to draw on.

Secondly, I don't believe it is possible to be a good programmer if one limits oneself to a small field. A good programmer knows the limitations and strengths of his tools, and utilises them intelligently upon a particular problem. If you specialise in one particular tool, then you cannot easily compare it to other technologies, and you become blind to its limitations, and ignorant of the advantages of other approaches.

That said, the example you picked, web development, isn't exactly a small field or a single technology. The web is just a medium, the interface; the problems you face behind the scenes are extremely varied. Web development is no more a specialisation than desktop application development is.

How about " Jack of Current Hypes, Master of Fundamental Concepts"

Yeah, its nice to be able to win the cow-chip tossing contest, even though it's a bunch of BS.

*grins*

I like this one. :D Seems very true from searching around the web and these "Learn $BUZZWORD in 10 Minutes" books that seem to come out everytime something new catches on.

Phil