Benefits (and downsides) of being Jack of All Trades

I have never been a competitive person in my life. I would never let anyone get under my skin. It would never bother me how others are doing; the only thing that did bother me was what others are doing. I always wanted to be Jack of all trades

I always wanted to do everything. I don’t remember sticking specifically to something from my early age.

Few days of my life I wanted to become an entrepreneur, but then after watching something related to space it would change to astronaut, then a dancer after watching a TV show, also a musician because I love music, and also a painter ( because once I won a painting competition in school).

All I wanted from life was to do everything. This ideology has helped me numerous times in my career and is one of the major reasons why I am an entrepreneur, dancer, guitar player, a programmer and a growing writer today!

Although this phrase has a bit of a negative caveat but there are lot of hidden perks that come with being a Jack. There are many reasons why you might want to reconsider the notion that a Jack of all trades can’t be equally successful.

Definition of Jack of all trades:

As per Marriam-Webster:

A person who can do passable work at various task, a handy versatile person

In general we are taught to always choose something since childhood and specialize it. Try to remember how many times were you asked the classic question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” in your childhood. Why limit any child to specialize in one thing.

Not everyone believes you have to choose, or that being a Jack of All Trades comes at such a high cost. Many people including myself believe being a Jack can make it easier to master certain skills.

No matter where you land with the concept, being a Jack of All Trades has plenty of benefits for those who want to try and do it all. Of course, you can’t talk about the benefits without talking about the pitfalls too. If you know what to expect, though, you might have an easier time as you go.

The Benefits of being Jack of all trades:

Firstly let’s talk about the benefits – starting with the obvious..

You are adaptable

As a Jack of all trades, you are able to do wide range of things. You are not limited to specifics. You may not be a superstar at everything you do, but you can do things just well enough that you’re never stressed about what might come next. You know how to use the knowledge and skills you’ve developed doing other things to make any job easier.

You never get bored of work

At my last job, I handled coding, graphic designing, content writing and was also in team of fashion designers for a project and never got bored of it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

You develop a go-getter attitude that can make you look really good.  Lots of different fields have problems arise that sometimes require a different approach what’s considered normal, making you a go-to employee—or friend, or family member—that’s ideal for the job.

You never stop learning

A Jack of All Trades is not content learning about just one thing. Your thirst for knowledge gives you the best skill you can learn: knowing how to learn. You develop the skill of learning things really fast. You are constantly looking for new things to learn. It might sound a little silly, but when you know how to approach new skills properly, no mountain is too high. Will you be the first person to climb Mt. Everest, or be the fastest? No, but you’ll sure as shit get to the top in one piece.

Your confidence is above the roof

Confidence plays a huge part in our lives, both socially and professionally. Imagine you know something about everything. It’s always easy for you to begin a conversation. You can mix well into any group and in fact you could be in driving seat of any discussion. Doing the things you’re good at is a great way to build up your confidence and a Jack of All Trades is good at a lot of things.

Like yin for a yang, everything has two sides. Being a Jack of All Trades isn’t perfect, of course, there are a few downsides, like:

You’re not  a Specialist

You might be good at a lot of stuff, but it is also unlikely that you’ll be considered a specialist or expert in a particular field. That title is reserved for those who have dedicated their lives to their chosen profession and they deserve it.

You keep distracting

In process of learning everything we are often distracted. You’re not progressing toward a specialization, but now you’re also not learning to be competent at anything else. Make sure you set goals and focus on them—even just a piece at a time—to make sure you don’t become unusable.

Stay realistic and remember that being a Jack of All Trades doesn’t make you a superhero. Just because you want to know how to do a lot of things doesn’t mean you can just start learning how to do them all at once. Take your time, pick a couple things to focus on, and be mindful of your personal well-being.

Image source: www.silive.com