Spread too thin?
Looks good doesn’t it? I sure think so. There’s roughly 10 or so different things on the plate, and they are all delicious I have no doubt. But let’s take a step back and look at them individually.
Let’s take the salami for example. It’s a great thing to put on this plate as it goes perfectly with the bread, and if you’re a cheese person, I’m sure it goes with the cheeses as well. However, did you think about how good the salami is on its own? Probably not. You got distracted by all the different combinations you could piece together. Starting to sound a bit familiar? Maybe not. So let me explain it a bit more.
In order to achieve that wonderful flavor of the salami, bread, and cheese, you need all three of those components by themselves first. Let’s think about the cheese. What if the person that made that cheese was actually a baker? Sure they know their way around a kitchen and food, but do they know how to make the best cheese? And flip flopped, think of a cheesemaker trying to bake a cake. I’m sure they would be able to, but it most likely wouldn’t be of the same quality. So when you get all these specialized people coming together, the cheesemaker, the salami expert, the baker of the bread, and smash all their products together, you get something wonderful. Imagine if just a single person tried to do it all by themselves. Sure you’d probably still get something tasty, but would it be as good?
So how does this relate? Well. How many languages or stacks can you think of? A lot right? If you’re just starting out, it may even be a bit intimidating. I know it was, and is still for me. However, the one thing I keep relearning is to stick to my guns and really get into the nitty gritty of things instead of just scratching the surface. Sure most things transfer between different stacks, languages. All the concepts are the same, but they all act differently in their own ways. Stick with one and try and master it before you move on to the next.
Someone that is a “master” at React, for example, is more valuable than someone that is decent at React, and 5 other frameworks. Now, that’s a bit controversial I’m sure. Not to mention niche. You far limit your job options, etc, etc, etc. However, think of the options you’ll have. You might be able to land that developer job, and not the jr. developer job.
Is this something to live by? Absolutely not. It’s just a reflection of my own thoughts and beliefs. I’ve found myself spread too thin between all these different frameworks and stacks to the point that I’m really only doing the basics of them all. In my opinion, it’s more valuable to be able to do the more “mastery” level things than to be able to the basics different ways.
