Mastodawn

Th3 Ph3d Jan 26, 2023

SwiftOnSecurity

Being an omnivorous technology generalist is punishing to start out as and lasts for years, but becomes incredibly valuable later. That's something I wish I could have told the prior me.
Come to understand: Being a generalist is not about "lacking experience to call yourself an expert." Touching on innumerable disciplines is itself a crucial skill that lets you operate in the real world with huge autonomy. Just know your limits. Most problems don't need specialists. Generalists are the ones that ***know when to call in the specialists and give them what they need***.

SwiftOnSecurity Jan 26, 2023

I'm an IT generalist. I can troubleshoot 801.x authentication based on event logs. I can write basic SQL queries to ascertain if data is there. I know routine basic coding errors in the theory of user authentication.

And that is enough. It is enough for almost anything I get called about. And that is why I am pinged by random people chatting me each day. When I am not enough I get you to the specialists. Because I know they exist. Because I know what I don't.

@SwiftOnSecurity I usually call myself a “IT Swiss Army knife”

Ryan Addessi Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity this is a great vibe

John Francis Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity
"The CPU silicon is damaged. I'll just have to fix it myself"
*generalist laser eyes*

throAU Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity you can google specifics. But being a generalist at least knows where to start on a wide variety of things

bigiain Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity This is an IT career super power, admitting (to yourself) when you don’t know something (or don’t know it deeply enough), and having a network of people who do know stuff who will respond to messages from you.

(If you’re jwz you can just “Dear Lazyweb” your questions, if you have way less reach like me, then knowing which of your friends/network to message for kernel debugging, or for advanced AWS esoterica, or for crypto library and usage advice, or whatever - makes you look like an elder god to people who can’t do that.)

Interpipes 💙Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity *802.1x, tay ❤

KingDead Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity I never really thought about it before, but you just described what I am. I like that term "Technology generalist."

Part of it is awareness of what others are doing and then also being able to communicate things out and I feel like a lot of dedicated specialists get tunnel vision and don't look at other views that they don't consider.

I didn't set out to become a generalist, but it was just a result of what I did kept shifting. Thanks for giving it a name.

techsuppork Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity
These are the kind of people I hire for my team. Being creative and nimble are incredibly valuable skills.

Pyperkub Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity you know what also happens?

When something isn't working, everyone nags you first, even if you have absolutely nothing to do with the project or problem. (I really need to exit Teams sometimes when I'm working on something I need to get done...)

Diego Elio Pettenò Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity it's the Rolodex Paradigm.

https://flameeyes.blog/2020/08/24/the-rolodex-paradigm/

The Rolodex Paradigm

Illustration by Furryviza In my previous bubble, I used to use as my “official” avatar a clipart picture of a Rolodex. Which confused a lot of people, because cultures differ and most i…

Flameeyes's Weblog

Helle, Queen of Dissociation

@SwiftOnSecurity yep, same, still trying to land a job again where that all is applicable as due to circumstances freelancing is out.

Pierre de Wet Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity do you find that there are certain generalisations that are more useful to become proficient (enough) in over others?

Kim Oppalfens 💎Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity Start your career in #EndpointConfigurationManager you'll be on a sure path to becoming a generalist in no time.

That Anonymous Coward Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity

Repeats this for those in the back...

"Because I know what I don't."

Knowing your own limits isn't a bad thing or a failing.

Knowing your own limits means you know when it is time to find the specialist who knows the inner workings better than you do.

katedevil Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity When I think about all the things I had to learn as a generalist IT person: Mac and MS hacks, digging into AD to fix user profiles, identifying a root kit that even MS didn't know, cabling around Medusa inspired network closets, not getting your hands cut open cracking a Dell box to replace a fan. Most jobs pale in comparison as far as skills gained. Our really good generalists would become experts in what they could see was coming down the road. That was 1990-2018 for me in IT!

Sue Beesley Jan 27, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity You could replace 'IT' with any area which is full of specialists and your post would stand. Good generalists who know what they know, also what they don't but know where to find it, are vital for getting anything done well.

Bynkii Jan 27, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity @Wraithe I’m teaching myself C# basics by converting a license manager powershell script to C# with a UI and everything

Brad Ganley Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity I don't know that I've ever read a social media post that resonated with me the way this does

Noxy 🐾🏳️‍🌈Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity I needed to hear exactly this, thank you <3

HTTP 1.1/418 Teapot Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity Fuck yes. It can also give you more of a holistic view of things.

Kee Hinckley Jan 26, 2023

@rmd1023 @SwiftOnSecurity One problem I’ve had is that it’s hard to describe or sell yourself as a generalist at lower levels. However it becomes much more valuable as you advance. Especially if you also have social skills.

HTTP 1.1/418 Teapot Jan 26, 2023

@nazgul Definitely.

Wonkity Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity Gonna frame this one

mike Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity Who’s omivorous? Just because you can catabolize — like all animals — doesn’t make you an omnivore.

Ted Garrison Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity Absolutely. I'm a generalist as well at work. I'm the guy that seems to know how it all works together. I don't know HOW EXACTLY it works, but 1) i can probably figure it out 2) I know who CAN.

It's why I'm a Mechanical Engineer that can code Python, work with MQTT, manages the IIOT department, figures out why the production equipment isn't working quite right, and leads software projects...

Jack-of-all-trades, master of few...

Pyxaron Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity I wish the corporate world would have understood that. I kept being pushed toward specializing, saying they have no use for a "general purpose IT guy".

Yet i was always the one who figured those "impossible to fix" bugs because i understood all parts of the system, and how they interact.

Specialists only test their very specific bit of the setup.

But nope, no path forward for that, no possible raises, and "we can outsource that part to IT service partners".

Jan 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦Jan 26, 2023

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity Agreed -- the corp world doesn't get it.

I work for a co-operative that provides technical services and my IT generalist skills are definitely appreciated there. I have a feeling that smaller organisations like us generalists more than larger.

Ken Jan 26, 2023

@Pyxaron Finding an incredibly good IT generalist, and letting them be in charge of absolutely everything else, can work out pretty well.

Pyxaron Jan 26, 2023

@kwinke Yeah, the problem is, from my corporate experience, is that management does not see the benefits, but sees all the risks of someone having such broad access and knowledge of their systems.

But that's essentially falling into the "security through obscurity" pile of stupid.

It still annoyingly happens everywhere, so i left IT.

SwiftOnSecurity Jan 26, 2023

@Pyxaron This is something, we as an IT Security department, are pushing. You need to employ cross-functional IT generalists. Just working on stuff that needs them, not assigned to a project. They are the ones we can talk to about getting things done in a larger vision. Who can unclog absolutely nonsensical blockers with their larger contextual knowledge.

okanogen VerminEnemyFromWithin Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity @Pyxaron
Yeah ok, but age discrimination is real.

Interpipes 💙Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity I'm trying to hire a mid-tier generalist - basically because we need an extra tier between 1st line and me so I can focus on more complex consultancy work - and it's really hard. People seem to get piped into the specialism sausage factory really early in their career now.

John Breen Jan 26, 2023

@interpipes @SwiftOnSecurity As a fellow generalist, the usual screening questions about "are you expert in this or that" is always disappointing. You don't want to hire me for what I'm expert in, you want to hire me because of all the things I've learned, mastered, deployed, and forgotten, and what I can learn and learn and master and deploy tomorrow. I've been hired because I was an expert in technology-X several times, only for that narrow skill being almost irrelevant within 3 months.

Interpipes 💙Jan 26, 2023

@jab01701mid @SwiftOnSecurity THIS

I do not have any interest in experts in whatever the latest fad is. You need people who understand concepts and can apply them to whatever today's trendy thing is.

Dustin [BusySignal-KE2EFX]Jan 26, 2023

@interpipes @SwiftOnSecurity

what kinda generalist?

Interpipes 💙Jan 26, 2023

@dustinfinn @SwiftOnSecurity the replies to this toot cover the gist of it, not that I expect any one candidate to know everything on this list on day one, cos.. that’s my job https://infosec.exchange/@SwiftOnSecurity/109753213550941295

SwiftOnSecurity (@[email protected])

@[email protected] I boosted your reply, respond with job reqs if you want and place to apply

Infosec Exchange

techsuppork Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity @Pyxaron
I love this. It's a complete role description.

Landy Bible Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity @Pyxaron this is so true. I consider myself a generalist, and my resume is all over the place. But my widely varied experience means I'm usually the one who can solve the weird problems, or at least point others in a new direction to get it solved.

Dave SC Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity @Pyxaron "SafeHands" is a lot more complimentary than "Generalist".

Flocular Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity @Pyxaron wait, you can do IT-Security as a non-generalist? I thought we’re all more diversely focused than your average Dev?

Misuse Case Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity @Pyxaron On the project where I’m working now there are different teams working on different parts of the Big System but we, the cybersecurity team, need to have a general knowledge between us about how the whole Big System works and its various components and design patterns (even though the term “design patterns” is not used in the project, they definitely exist), especially to do threat modeling.

GreenDotGuy Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity @Pyxaron Just thinking about what a handful of at-large IT generalists could do at my org if they had sufficient permission, flexibility, and nobody to report to for formal projects or upkeep of existing stuff. I think it would be amazing.

Tindra Jan 26, 2023

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity I remember as a baby IT person, tracking an issue through not just the IT parts of the network, but the telecom parts of the network. I learned a ton about the *system* from the people who spoke in circuits, not routers, just by watching them troubleshoot their pieces.

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity until they can't and they'll call you up at 0300 local offering to pay 4-5 digits an hour to fix shit quickly...

Cuz that happened to so many colleagues I know of...

Karen Lopez 🌎👩‍💻🔒Jan 26, 2023

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity let's be clear. I have general knowledge about a lot of things, but not everything. I have specialized knowledge of data and databases.

This is not a binary thing.

All professions do it that way. IT is not some unique thing that we should expect to be different.

Philip Mallegol-Hansen Jan 26, 2023

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity Narrator: They would in fact spend years and millions trying to outsource - And end up with a worse outcome than they started with.

throAU Jan 26, 2023

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity this is basically my defacto role where I work. Been around the traps and exposed to enough stuff to be a good bullshit filter and act as a go between with more specialist consultants. A lot of people out there with highly focused training that trip up on stuff outside of their wheelhouse due to not knowing about yhr bigger picture.

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity the best part of that “outsource to IT service partner” part is that THEY don’t have generalists, and better, their people will ,contractually, never go outside their scope, meaning the problem still doesn’t get fixed.

Fabien Trégan Jan 26, 2023

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity Could you brand yourself as "composite system" or "widerange problems solving" specialist ?

Natanael ⚠️Jan 26, 2023

@ftregan @Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity "holistic specialist" lol

Cris Jan 26, 2023

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity never really felt comfortable to give up any of my interest and specialize on on thing alone. I don’t regret it because like you say, in the end the general purpose people are the ones who then piece the puzzle together and come up with a solution.

Ben Jackson Jan 26, 2023

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity
I was very much a generalist and felt that I needed to specialise so pursued networking with that in mind.

Eventually I came round to the idea of embracing my generalist experience though and here I am in security land now - just adding more strings to my generalist bow and happy to do so.

I bet most orgs rely on generalists to keep things running more than they realise.

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity In my field (IT Architecture), I have been asked to specialize a few times and then I remember that the specialists lose their jobs more often than the generalists as the tides change.

cutaway Jan 30, 2023

@Pyxaron @SwiftOnSecurity I don’t have enough fingers to count the number of times I’ve been turned down for a position because my answer to “What do you want to do?” Is “What does the team need? I’ll do it.”

Cat 🐈‍⬛🛰️ HAS MOVED TO A NEW SERVER Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity Dear god SO MUCH THIS

Sometimes the only thing you need to be the SME in is when to call in the SME.

Tim Beauchamp Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity
Completely agree. Would just caveat with what separates good generalists from bad generalists is specifically what you say: knowing when to call in the specialists.

There are a lot of generalists who get in way over their head. Some end up buying social media companies and burning them to the ground.

sometimes ian Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity being shoehorned into being a specialist is something I'm trying to avoid right now at work. I just wrapped up a major project and plenty of folks on my team expect me to just keep working on the same part of our system, whereas I want to move onto something totally new.

m-p{3}Jan 26, 2023

@SwiftOnSecurity Generalists IMO are the kind that learns as much as possible on a large spectrum not just because they like technology, but also because they enjoy being able to connect as many dots as possible that aren't obvious to a majority, and this is valuable in itself.