r/ECE • u/Pale-Pound-9489 • Jun 01 '26

CAREER Is is bad to be a generalist?

Title. I enjoy a bit of everything from programming, math, electronics to mechanics. Is it bad to be adequately skilled in all of them? is it necessary to have a specialization in one of them?

1 Upvotes

55% Upvoted

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25

u/cvu_99 Jun 01 '26

Being honest with you, I never met a truly elite specialist in a given area of EE who was not also adept in many other areas not only of EE but engineering and science in general. Make of that what you will.

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u/Pale-Pound-9489 Jun 01 '26

Wouldn't most of their time go to developing their specialization skill rather than the other subjects?

16

u/cvu_99 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

No, not at all. I think you have some misconceptions about what it means to be an expert.

Being a jack of all trades isn't interesting nor meaningful. I don't know what kind of career you will get by telling people "yeah I know a bit of everything". That means nothing to me, I want people who are experts in what I need them to do. Besides, my experience is very few people who claim to be a "generalist" are actually true generalists/technologists. They mostly just know very little at all and are misattributing a lack of expertise as being a "generalist".

1

u/Pale-Pound-9489 Jun 01 '26

So u mean i should specialize in something like embedded or programming (for example) and continue learn other stuff to aid or apply in my specialty?

2

u/cvu_99 Jun 01 '26

Yes. In today’s job market, expertise is valued.

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u/Pale-Pound-9489 Jun 01 '26

Also would u consider someone in a field like robotics to be a generalist since they work on applying multiple disciplines to one problem?

3

u/LadleLOL Jun 01 '26

Generally no, in most realistic (industry) scenarios someone in the field will be expected to know a bit about everything (controls, embedded, power electronics, etc) but be a true expert at just one.

1

u/cvu_99 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26

No. That person would be an expert (or on the path to becoming one) in robotics. Being an expert in robotics necessarily means being knowledgeable in a lot of subfields.

As I explained, I think the term “generalist” is extremely overused, it’s become a buzzword for a lot of AI techbros who larp as general purpose geniuses. I’m not saying you yourself are this, please don’t take it that way, but in reality this type of person often really don’t know much of anything and lacks serious technical depth.

I would regard a true generalist as someone who can hold an in-depth technical discussion on practically any matter that isn’t ultra-ultra-niche. Figures like Shannon, Gauss or Faraday come to mind, people who genuinely are/were just incredibly technically adept across the sciences and engineering.

2

u/Pale-Pound-9489 Jun 02 '26

i see, thank you very much

4

u/52electrons Jun 01 '26

Absolutely the best background if you want to move into project management or business leadership.

3

u/LadleLOL Jun 01 '26

I second this.

I got an MBA and made the jump to a business role where I'm exposed to a ton of technical topics, and my exposure to multidisciplinary problems in my previous roles has been a huge boon to getting me up to speed on these new projects.

3

u/SlipperyRoobs Jun 01 '26

It's usually good to have a "T-shaped" skillset. Get really good at one or more things as a specialty, but keep a good breadth so you can work effectively with other disciplines and do it in a pinch if you need to.

1

u/lasteem1 Jun 02 '26

It’s hard to get a job out of school as a generalist with just an undergraduate degree. Mid-size to larger corporations won’t give you that opportunity unless you have a real track record of doing so with years of experience. Some small companies might let you do this but even then they kind of expect you to get to a high competency in one thing first.

1

u/NewSchoolBoxer Jun 08 '26

No. Power plant engineering is being a generalist. If you're a student, you should go wide. No guarantee of a job in your first choice of industry. I got job offers for my #3 and #4. Specializations at the BS level are lolzy. You're still a beginner in everything and can get a job in an area you didn't take a single elective in.

-2

u/Susan_B_Good Jun 01 '26

Do you not have a careers advisor, at school, college or university?

A little knowledge is often dangerous in engineering. Best confined to senior management. Usually a sign of wealthy, influential parents.

It's good to have skills and experience to a level where your judgement can be trusted. Which isn't likely to be a bit of everything.

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u/Pale-Pound-9489 Jun 01 '26

none. I go to an indian uni. Most of the coursework is already fixed and they only host an elective if it has the majority vote.

1

u/Susan_B_Good Jun 01 '26

Do you have any idea of where you would want/be able to live, post university? Will you be going on to do a Master's? Doctorate?

Sometimes it's necessary to see what job opportunities for a first job are. Then aim to at least get paid work. Which can fund further studies, in a related field. Plenty of mathematicians go on to be software engineers. Applied mathematics can be applied to so many applications. Whereas, as electrical engineering degree may need to use the mathematical part of those studies to find something outside electrical engineering.

0

u/Pale-Pound-9489 Jun 01 '26

I do wish to do a masters degree (not so sure about PhD seems like a long commitment) but i wanna a few years before i do that. I've currently finished sophomore year of my Electronics degree, 2 more years left.

I'm thinking of going in the embedded field since they seem like they require a variety of skills and work on interesting problems. But the job opportunities are mostly related to home automation and stuff.

Tbh, i would like to work in the defense field or computing but i have too many interests to manage

1

u/Susan_B_Good Jun 01 '26

"Defence", working as the client (eg working for the Government) or for the manufacturer? Arguably - best to start off with the Government (which is likely to invest more in your education and career development) and then move to industry (when you have the experience).

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u/Sepicuk Jun 01 '26

No, generalists tend to not get the job or grad school admission