travissisti

Having read everyone's responses, I think followup question #1 was the most important one: Am I selling myself short by trying to be good at multiple things, when I could be an expert at one? Simply being 'very good' at two or more things is extremely valuable, even if means not being 'excellent' or 'an expert' at either.

I think for now I'll continue down my current path. I like to code, and I like to design, and I happen to be decent at both, and I think I would be disappointed if I was somehow forced to give up either. So why not continue? It's served me well so far.

I may never be able to hang with the hardcore code slingers or the hardcore designers, but there's a ton of spectrum between the two extremes that is largely ignored, and there's value to be had there. As @idan pointed out, it might take some self-promotion and/or time to prove yourself (assuming you're aiming for work at an agency or other established company), but once you carve out your spot it will be clear how much value you provide.

And of course if your plan (like mine) is to strike off on your own, then who cares -- you'll get a ton of mileage out of a mixed skill set. You can always hire 'experts' down the road.

Thanks for the comments, jorgeleo. I do believe my boss had my best interests in mind, but you're probably right that it's easier to put someone "in a box" than it is reconcile the nuances of someone who evades classification. And hey, I don't blame him; I like to organize, classify, and categorize stuff, too. Everyone does. I think it's just human nature.

But your overall point is well taken. I'll focus on doing good work and try not to worry about where I 'fit'.

I LOVE the idea of the T-shaped person -- that's a fantastic concept, and seems like a great target for my own skill development. Plus, it makes me an even bigger Valve fan than I am already. :)

There are certainly many, many skills that go into building and running a tech startup, but I think the technical skill continuum looks (broadly) like this:

systems > back end > front end > design

The best teams I've been on have included members from each discipline with overlap into their neighboring areas. When transitioning from phase to phase (or, in the sort of rapid development that we're seeing more often today, where several tasks are occurring in parallel) it's super important to not have any gaps between segments.

Ah, good call on Gabriel Weinberg of DuckDuckGo. He is obviously very talented in many areas.

Thanks Kaizyn, this is very encouraging. :) I consider myself very fortunate to have a broad range of options.

Acting as a liaison between teams -- and even between members of the same team -- is something I find myself doing often. Unfortunately, as @idan pointed out, these kinds of things often go unnoticed by management; and even if they are noticed, they're hard to quantify.

To be fair, I do feel that the people who've suggested I make a choice are looking out for my best interests. I would consider each of these people to be a friend (including my former boss). But I do think you're right that people like to classify things and put them in boxes. I don't fall into either box and that may cause dissonance for some.

It kills me that everything is "5 stars", "10/10", "#1" these days. When everything is special, nothing is special, right?

I like how you identify the designer/developer as a role in and of itself; embracing the tension instead of picking a side. I've never heard it phrased quite like that before, but I think it makes a lot of sense.

Great points. I think you're dead-on in your observation that the hybrid's biggest values often go unnoticed. Executives won't see or hear every little thing you do that adds value; interfacing between design and dev is the big one, I agree.

To be honest I've never given much though to marketing myself. Maybe I'll pick up a Seth Godin book or two this summer.

Wow, I'm stunned by the response! I expected to get, at most, a handful of comments.

Apologies for the delay in responding -- I'll go through and add comments as appropriate.

Thanks everyone for the advice, suggestions, and anecdotes!