Specialize? Generalize? Synthesize.

After developing some skills, new freelancers need to determine the sorts of work that they will actively seek from clients. To this end, it is often helpful to evaluate the risks and benefits of being a specialist or a generalist. A specialist, as the term implies, identifies a niche earlier and conscientiously cultivates expertise in a domain by only accepting relevant projects. In contrast, the generalist maximizes opportunities for paid work and experience by tackling any kind of assignment available. Like many other matters in life, favoring one approach over another incurs a tradeoff, with each strategy having a distinct, opposing set of advantages. Before explaining how to synthesize these approaches, it is worth considering the privileges and challenges of the specialist and generalist.  

The Merits & Pitfalls of Specialization

The greatest asset of a specialist is arguably a sense of identity, which in turn helps these professionals command higher rates in their field of choosing. Credentials and experience inspire immediate confidence in prospective clients and will convince them to eventually extend opportunities to work on more lucrative, significant projects. Although long-term earning potential probably exceeds that of the perennial generalist, the newer specialist can also be susceptible to droughts in work. Aggressive marketing and sales efforts can often cut the duration of such dry spells, but they remain a distinct possibility in narrow fields or ones replete with talented competition. As such, freelancers should perform extensive market research on a field before devoting time and resources to specialize in it. Their investments can be wasted if core skills lack transferability into another niche.

The more static nature of work performed by specialists simultaneously serves as an advantage and disadvantage. Cultivating familiarity with a defined set of projects makes it easier to establish a professional working rhythm, but it can also lead to stagnation. To determine the degree to which such stability is good depends largely on personality. In my experience, the comfort conferred from this sense of structure generally exceeds the cost of boredom that can come from working off of templates. Having access to templates and mental shortcuts makes it easier to cut the time needed for projects, which allows a freelancer to accept more work and increase his or her earning potential.

The Strengths & Weaknesses of Generalization

The greatest advantage of a generalist is rapid growth, which confers its own sense of stability and confidence. By not discriminating at all among types of assignments, competent generalists will very likely avoid the sorts of droughts possible with specialists occupying small, esoteric, or competitive fields. Furthermore, generalists may discover multiple compelling disciplines and get a better sense of what they like and dislike quickly. Specialists who restrict their opportunities early in their career may deprive themselves of exposure to other exciting forms of work they may enjoy.

The disadvantages of being a generalist are largely the converse of the advantages that specialists enjoy. By working as a jack-of-all trades, generalists may struggle to command the same high rates as a specialist in a given field. Projects may also require more research upfront if the format or topic is new and unfamiliar to the freelancer. Decreased project efficiency, which arises from lacking shortcuts, further limits earning potential.

Achieving Harmony & Synthesis

Although tese two approaches may appear mutually exclusive, it is possible and advisable to combine both to enjoy the benefits of both strategies. As an example, I specialize in medical writing but generalize by exploring the different disciplines available, like promotional writing and medical education. In doing so, I can explore a sufficient range of issues, continually learn, and identify areas that may be more interesting to work in the future. A good rule of thumb for applying this synthesis in other contexts is that what you do should be specific enough where someone can describe what you do in a few words, but broad enough where you can always find something new. This hybrid model is probably transferable to any other line of work (e.g., graphic design, programming), although I imagine it would need to be modified to a degree to meet the circumstances unique to a given trade.

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Do you have an opinion on what works best, especially for the new freelancer? Let me know your thoughts, and I’ll be glad to amend my post and add the perspectives and experiences of other professionals!