Jack of all, Master of none

Being a mother, I would love to be "Jack of all" and be the best in everything for my kid. I would love my kid to say-

Best Cook - My mummy cooks best food in the world.

Best looks - My momma is the prettiest mommy.

Best knowledge - My mommy has all the answers

Best teacher - My maa helps me do the homework perfect.

Best Mother - My mother, oh! She is the coolest and best mom.

I would love to be the master of all when comes to motherhood. Thus I somehow agree to -

"Jack of all trades, master of none,

Certainly better than a master of one"

When the point directs to my professional life, let's see...

I belong to tester’s community. So, if I try an look out for job's how often do i see a requirement with "Candidate Required for Manual + Functional Automation + Performance Testing + Security Testing...". At least I have not seen any till now.

Maximum I have seen is Manual Testing + any one of above.

It is always good and advisable to have some general knowledge about all, but when it comes to expertise, I would prefer one…

"Jack of all trades, master of none,

Better than Jack of one trade, master of none"

I love the durations when I am scripting some automated tests. My time flies when I am creating frameworks. Dows that I mean I should master developer’s skills? I get the answer whenever I find a bug. A defect a day makes my day. So, in the end, I am a tester. If I ever set out into business, I can only think of something in testing domain – Coaching/Freelancing/My own Testing firm etc.

Some people may defend being master of all by avoiding boredom. But again, perfecting one trade does not mean we need to do the same task again and again.

Take a more general field acting. Some actors may be all-rounders in comedy/serious cinema/dancing etc. But at the end, they are actors.

Salman Khan may earn millions selling his paintings, but he is and would always be known as an actor. That's his identity.

Ratan Tata has ventured into almost every industry. Technology, Automobiles, Soaps, name a product and you would have a TATA version of same. But, did he master all of them. No, he hired master of each of the fields and delegate them to earn for him. So, even he is a master of one only - Business making.

It does not mean one cannot be Jack of all. Shahid Afridi – an all-rounder. Batsmen sweat when they see him holding the ball on the other end of pitch. Bowlers pray every time they throw the delivery to him. He was probable one of the first Pakistani cricketers to master the art of speaking. He gives amazing speeches. He is in a way master of more than one.

Okay, I have done enough dangling to and fro. The conclusion I reach here is that I would not prefer to be either a Jack of all, not the master of one. My grab would definitely be a generalist and have some reasonable learning in all. After all, my husband would be on cloud nine if I do intelligent talking among his business colleagues, college friends, homely relatives, squash club… I would definitely want my son to swim, paint, dance, top exams, everything.

Guys, think and decide your take on the quote. Remember, Jack of all for one priority may be master of one for other. If you do it right, being a jack of all trades should be considered a strength.

What do you think you are? Specialist/Generalist? What do you want to be? I would love to hear your thoughts. Do leave in a reply... :)