Jack Of All Trades VS Master Of One – Good or Bad?
If someone called you a “jack of all trades”, how are you going to respond to it? Truth is, you’d be confused as to whether it is a compliment or a diss. The reason is that the phrase has been used over the years both positively as well as negatively. You can’t blame anyone since, by the looks of it, it applies perfectly in both the senses. There is no argument over the fact that there are pros and cons associated with being either of the two; the jack of all trades as well as the master of one.
If you go back in time a few years, perhaps it won’t be wrong to state that your expertise in one particular niche was all that used to matter. But fast forward to today, and you are probably going to second that we are now living in an era of multitasking. If you are someone who has been labeled as the jack of all trades, you are perhaps wondering if there is a benefit that you can extract out of being such an individual, or is it time to focus on getting expertise in any one of your skills.
People who are referred to as the “jack of all trades” certainly have an exciting personality to offer. The world may continue to use the phrase negatively, but it won’t stop being correct that in this time and age where competition is at its peak and a minor shortcoming has the potential to kick you out of the race, being a jack of all trades prepares you well for the competition. Here are a few of the reasons why you should take pride in being the jack of all trades.
1. Wider Options To Be The Master
The first and the foremost benefit of being the jack of all trades is that it is entirely within your power to turn into the master of any particular skill that you are currently mediocre at. It comes in handy since you don’t have to start from scratch as you decide to master any of your skills. What’s more, is that it is all about practice. You may be the jack of many trades as of now, but with the passage of time, as you continue to practice them all and give yourself opportunities to learn more, you will eventually begin to master quite a few of them. In other words, if you are the jack of all trades today, it is only a matter of time before you transform yourself into the master of a wide range of skills. Imagine the possibilities and the doors which will begin to open on you once you transition into the latter phase. Being the jack of all trades is like stepping out of the box, moving out of your comfort zone and taking a challenge that will help you grow and be more successful in your life eventually.
2. A Myriad Of Opportunities
As evident from the title itself, “jack of all trades” has the potential of widening the opportunities for you. For instance, if you are a master of web development, the only career pathway in front of you is to be a web developer. The job vacancies that you are eligible to apply for are somewhat limited. On the other hand, if you were accustomed to web development with content writing and were familiar with the basic know-how of graphic designing as well, imagine the career possibilities for you. More often than not, companies have their own training program to shape the skills of their employees as per the projects they have in hand. Knowing that you have a wider skill set, they’d know that you can be trained for multiple purposes and will be able to serve a key role for the organization in the long run. This is specifically true for the startups, which by the way, are on a rise in this time and age. Since budget is a major concern for the startups, they are always in search of people who can handle multiple tasks for them so that they won’t have to hire greater manpower than what is their capacity to afford as of now.
3. An Impressive Personality
If you think about it, being the jack of all trades sends a few major hints about the kind of personality that you are and all of such hints help you present yourself as an impressive personality. For instance, no one is born with multiple different skills. The fact that you currently have a diverse skill set has an implication that you are someone who prefers and even loves to constantly take on challenges and learn new things. If having the ability to learn new things and apply them in the real-life scenarios is not a skill that will bring you success in your professional life, nothing ever will. Being the jack of all trades is an implication that you have mastered the king of all skills; the skill of investing your time and effort while using the available resources most impeccably for the purpose of learning. Someone who is the master of one trade might already have found his peace with just one skill, but the jack of all trades is always on a look for newer knowledge and information that makes his life more adventurous and his personality more impressive.
4. Better Social Circle
Now here’s a unique one. You might have wondered how being the jack of all trades can cast an impact on your social life? What’s interesting is that the two domains of your life are more strongly related to each other than you would think. Try to recall the last time that you hung out with your friends. Apart from the jokes and the party stuff, when you sat down to talk about the real stuff, what was the topic of choice? We can bet that it was something that all of you were interested in and had experiences to share. Be it something as mediocre as relationships. As long as everyone in your social circle has had relevant experience, it can turn out to be a conversation starter. And that’s how being the jack of all trades gives a boost to your social circle since it widens your capability to hold a debate or a conversation about a wide range of things. You no longer have to wait for the topic of healthcare, or technology, or business in particular before you can jump in and take an active part in the conversation. If you are the jack of all trades, you adapt and make your place in all sorts of socials settings. There’s politics being discussed, yes you do have a few insights. It’s about the stock market, let’s share your ideas with the people. It could be anything but you wouldn’t have to be the boring listener who sits at the corner and listens silently without his own feedback.
5. Chances At Being The Leader
This brings us to the final and probably the most important benefit of being the jack of all traders. Did you know that you have a better chance of becoming a leader if you were the jack of all trades as compared to if you were the master of one? Think of any example that pops into your mind and you’d be able to see that being accustomed to several different trades is the quality of a leader. You can’t expect someone to run an entire organization if he has expertise in the niche of finance only but is totally oblivious of the other operational components of a company such that of human resources or IT. A leader is identified as someone who has plenty of experiences and a library of knowledge to make informed decisions. Both of these goals can only be accomplished if you choose to be the jack of all trades and avoid investing all of your energy into learning a single trade. Simply put, if you have a diverse skill set, the chances of you creating your dominance over the rest of the people with expertise in only one skill, are remarkably higher. This is what makes you eligible for the position of a leader in the long run.
Final Note
Now that you have gone through the information mentioned above, you would probably never make the mistake of taking “jack of all trades” as a disrespect. In the current times, it is a compliment, a feature that changes your entire personality and adds the flavor of charming impression to it. For the best possible results, you should focus on being the jack of all trades while mastering at least one of your skills as well. Of course, it will take some time and a lot of effort and dedication to accomplish, but once you are there, there isn’t going to be an earthly power to stop you from being successful in your life.
