As industries and job markets change, professionals are asking whether it is more financially rewarding to become a specialist in one field or develop skills in different areas. Financial literacy expert Patrick Wameyo says the answer depends on market demand and adaptability at the stage of one’s career.
He explains that certain careers reward specialisation since they require highly unique skills to reach the highest earning brackets. However, not every profession works this way, as income levels are influenced by factors such as supply and demand for particular skills.
“Building skills in multiple areas, especially those relevant to market demand, is important. Generally, people start their careers from a broad base and later narrow down into areas where they find relevance,” he says.
He says that specialisation becomes financially rewarding at what he describes as the level two contributor stage of a career, a point where an individual can be trusted to independently deliver major projects. At this level, depth of expertise is valuable.
However, higher leadership roles need less specialisation since leaders produce results through teams made up of specialists in different narrow fields. While some people assume being a generalist automatically brings financial advantages, he says that adaptability is a determining factor.
“There is no specific advantage if you are not an adaptable personality. Specialising too early comes with risks as industries and technologies change, and some skills may be obsolete.
He explains that analogue telecommunications engineers struggled to be relevant after the rise of mobile phone technology. The possibility of becoming irrelevant is real when your area of specialisation is no longer in demand.
The job market says values align with emerging skills trends to make a person be relevant in their field. Technology, for example, has transformed traditional professions such as accounting, making digital competence an essential complement to existing expertise.
The balance between specialisation and generalisation varies in different industries. In journalism, for example, television, radio, and print demand different skill sets, even though they fall under the same profession.
To determine whether you are suited to a broad or focused career path, he recommends psychometric testing as a tool for understanding personal strengths and preferences.
Even though specialisation can reduce flexibility to some extent, he believes people can still transition later in life through additional training. However, he notes that highly technical roles can be harder to enter at an older age due to industry demands and changing realities. “Employers assess varied experience differently depending on the role. Some positions benefit from candidates with a wide mix of skills, while others need technical experience differently for the role,” she says.
Some positions benefit from candidates with a wide mix of skills, while others need technical expertise. Interestingly, he believes that transferable skills such as communication and leadership are more strongly associated with higher pay than technical skills alone.
Transferable skills are high-level skills and are associated with higher value and higher pay. Networking is important in all career paths, though Patrick says connections alone are not enough. Networks only create opportunities for skilled people through connections.
In freelancing and entrepreneurship, he believes generalists have an advantage because they handle many projects and need diverse skill combinations.
Young professionals feeling pressured to specialise too early, he advises focusing instead on continuously building relevant skills.
“The sooner you can build skills, the higher the likelihood of better income opportunities. Be aware of current and future industry trends while investing in skills that will be valuable. The World Economic Forum produces annual reports on future skills trends that can help guide people on what skills to master,” he says.
