Specialization or Generalization

Specialization is a term I am hearing a lot lately since I am currently studying and figuring out what to do with my life. I am asking myself multiple questions to find out what I want to do in the future. Amongst the questions is the question of if I should specialize. In other words, should I study a general subject like chemistry or should I study a specific subject like analytical chemistry or biochemistry? Technically, the subjects have tons of potential and a range of interesting topics. The university offers all the options listed but I am just unsure if I want to study specifically or broadly. In all honesty, I do not believe that I am the only one asking this question. Turns out there are tons of videos on YouTube from a wide variety of people who are discussing if it is better to specialize or generalize. Honestly, I am not sure anymore why I am writing this article now since society already talked about it.

When people talk about specialization, they talk about it in the context of careers. Full disclosure, I am not quite familiar with the job market and what is best to thrive in there. However, I do know a thing or two about life. It would have been weird if I did not know anything about life. Either way, I wanted to share my experiences and thoughts concerning specialization and generalization. Full disclosure, I am fully aware that I am biased but that is just me and there are tons of people out there who could tell you the other side of the story I fail to get into.

There is nothing worse than having to choose between being specialized or generalized at something since both have their advantages and disadvantages. However, before I get to the question of which one is better, I wanted to define specialization and generalization. The dictionary definition of specialization is “the process of concentration on and becoming an expert in a particular subject or skill.” Of course, there is also the biological definition of “the adaption of an organ or part to serve a special function or to suit a particular way of life.” However, in this article, I want to focus on the non-biological definition. From the definition of specialization, one can get the definition of generalization. The dictionary definition of generalization is “a general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases.” From that definition, it is obvious that generalization and specification can´t exist independently of each other. An example of generalizing would just be the grouping of all dog breeds by calling the collection dogs. If one wants to specify there would be the German shepherd, Siberian husky, French bulldog, Golden Retriever, etc…

A small side story that has nothing to do with specification or generalization. You can read this part or not. It is up to you. The information in this paragraph does not directly contribute to this article though. If you do read this part, you will understand why I decided to write this paragraph. Since you are still reading here I go… In school, my teachers assigned me to write multiple essays throughout my school career since it was supposed to teach me something. My classmates and I had to write different types of essays in the forms of a “letter to the editor”, a newspaper article, an interview, etc… Amongst the different forms of essays was argumentation. The task was to find arguments for and against a given subject and present them in an essay. Honestly, the teachers made the task sound easy but it was not. A certain structure needs to be followed to achieve the highest grade. I never got the highest grade and that bothered me slightly but this is not the takeaway of this story. I learnt when writing an argumentation that the contra arguments are just the pro arguments for the other side. That is the takeaway of this story and the other takeaway is that I actually learnt something from school. Both takeaways are something I will try to value one way or another. Either way, I included this story because I do not want to repeat myself in the following paragraphs. To make it clear, the con arguments for specialization will just be the pro arguments for generalization. Now back to the topic at hand.

The impression the adults left was that there are high paying specific jobs but if the jobs you specify in does not exist, you are out of a job may be even permanently since specific jobs do not come round often. They make it seems like gambling where big risks lead to big rewards. This makes it seem scary to specify and honestly, I am not really fond of the idea of specifying either. There is something about monotony that scares me. Maybe it is just the fear of being bored all the time for the coming forty years. I do not want to get a job I find utterly boring. I am fully aware that I have expenses I need to pay for but honestly I rather starve than be bored.

Dedicating your whole life to one thing and one thing only just sounds like a nightmare to me, since the what-ifs just come flooding in. What if I choose the wrong thing? What if the thing I choose does not support my lifestyle? What if the thing I choose will be bad for me? So many unsettling questions follow when I ask myself if I want to specify. If I did choose to specify and I found out that the thing is not my thing, I will be stuck. Of course, the option of re-education will always be available but if you do not have a support net then you are out of luck and I fear that this will happen to me as well. If one chooses to specify then I will have a limited skillset, which would not be the problem if one generalizes.

There is also a looming risk of specifying, which would be the risk of obsolescence. We live in a fast-paced modern world where everything is connected with one another. Some things can gain popularity and some can lose popularity. Maybe one chooses to specialize in something that is not necessary anymore. There are a few skills I have picked up over the year that are no longer necessary. For example, I was bored and learned the Morse code. It is a fun thing to learn and I would really suggest anyone looking for something to learn it. However, the downside is there is no real use for the Morse code anymore, at least not in the way it used to. Another example would be encryption methods (not those mathematically complex ones but the ones used throughout history like Caesar cypher or Vigenère cypher). Again, this was fun to learn but that knowledge may no longer serve an important purpose since tons of decryption software would crack those encrypted codes in a matter of seconds. Now encryption has gotten so advance that one will need computers to create a harder to crack code. In no way am I saying that those skills are irrelevant but they no longer serve the purpose they used to serve. Those skills, however, could be the inspiration for some other skill, since one can use that outdated knowledge to solve a modern problem in a completely different field.

This brings me to the problem I have with specialization. I am not sure how to phrase this correctly but specialization may make a person closed-minded. Not saying that specialized people are but they are probably only exploring the possibilities available in their realm of knowledge. Instead of boring you with words, I found a video that explains my point of view. I am not going to spoil the content of the video but it helped to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. In other words, it helped to look into other fields, instead of just focusing on the one field one is specialized in.

The question is now if it is better to be an expert at something or intermediate at everything. In my eighteen years of life, I never dedicated my time to one thing. I always had multiple hobbies and interest. Many people advised against this. In all honesty, I never survived a hobby, which lasted longer than five years. Now I know the basics of everything but I can´t do anything properly, which is somewhat frustrating when I compare myself to my single-hobby peers. I am fully aware that comparing myself to my single-hobby peers is not fair since they manage to dedicate their free time to only one hobby and I on the other hand dedicate my free time to the hobby that seems most interesting at the time. In comparison to my single-hobby peers who are entering tournaments and competitions, I have nothing to show for my lack of dedication. In life, it is somehow always the end result that counts and not the process. This is the reason why I believe specifying may have an advantage.

Another reason specialization could be important if you want to increase trust. Let´s say that you are a Jeweller with fifteen years of dedication to the art of jewellery making and a few astonishing accomplishments up your sleeves. I on the other hand am a little bit of everything in the field of art (over-exaggerated but bear with me) with only a few years of dedication in each subfield. If there is a client out there who is looking for a Jeweller, it would be more likely that the client would trust you with fifteen years of dedication and a few astonishing accomplishments. The client probably would not trust me that much since my art is not as refined as yours on paper. Experts are more trustworthy than someone with a few opinions since experts have built a name for themselves, unlike a random nobody. It is expected of experts to bring significant results to the table and people generally want the best of the best.

Another thing is that experts also tend to like what they do and therefore enjoy their jobs a lot. The reason I never found one interest that I can focus on is the fact that I can´t see myself doing that for the rest of my life. I don´t quite know what is different with my mindset but the enjoyment of an interest decreases over time. Therefore, I never found one thing I can focus on and that is the reason I am so worried. I really admire experts for their dedication towards one single thing since I can´t imagine myself doing something like that ever. Choosing one option feels like closing the door on every other option. Choosing one thing just feels like an irreversible permanent choice that I have to live with even though I might totally hate it. I just can´t have the feeling of regret on my mind constantly. The rest of my life just feels like such a long time and I don´t want to regret or hate for the rest of my life; I have already done enough of that.

There is also a Ted talk that I find interesting and formulates the ideas I mentioned in this article so much nicer.

The reason I am writing this article is just to help me sort through every thought just like every other article I write. I am not trying to convince anyone of anything since this article is supposed to help me sort through my thoughts. Like always I still have a nagging feeling that you will misunderstand my points or that I have forgotten something but that is something I am used to now. I guess, to sum up this article I just wanted to say that choosing either specialization or generalization is dependent on multiple factors like personal interest/dedication (are you really interested and are you willing to dedicated multiple years to this?), environmental factors (e.g. job market) and other factors. It should help to look at the supply and demand of the interest and if you can pursue that interest. It could help if one would also ask current experts and get an insight into the interest. It would be helpful if one ask others for their opinion. However, at the end of the day it is still your decision and a decision only you can make. The last statement sounds a bit intimidating (sorry about that).