Early-Career Engineers Should Beware of Specializing too Soon, Said Philip su, a former Engineer at Microsoft, Meta, and Openai, and Founder of Podcast Player Superphone.
“That, i think, is a tricky depending on how well the person knows themselves,” sued on a recent episode of “The Developing Dev“Podcast be ascked if it was better to be a generalist or to pick a niche and stick to it.
“So there’s the occisional exceptional person – like these prodigies in chess, for instance, right?” He added. “They will have ben a prodigy by the time they are eight or nine years old, and so they are obviously fit to play chess. Thats SHOULD SPECIALIZE, Becauses that an unique unique talent, right?”
For Most, there are the dangers to single focus, su said – especilly in the “age of he.” There’s the Always the Possibity, he said, that your specialization is relevant obsolete.
“IF YOU JOIN SOME AND YOU’RE DIHAHARD COMMUNTED TO LIKE, Technology a, right?” Su said. “What if in three years that thing thing irrelevant, and that all you know? You know, you’re like Cobol person hoping y2k happens again, right? Because Cobol’s Not Used Anywhere, but that your specialty. ”
Before you choose to completely dedicate yourself to any one are, su suggestted taking a few years to the scils and to determin what best suits you.
“If you are 22, 23, Starting Your Career, I Wauld, in General, Encourage at Least Dabble in a Few Things before you like diahar,” he said.
Figuring out what’s right for you is easiest when you’re sura of what you want, su said, swimming in work, but in life.
“Decisions, for me, a lot of Times Were Hard Becusee i didn’t have clear values,” he said. “If you know exactly where you’re going, deciss Toward getting there become a lot Easier.”
If su ist give advice to his youunger self, he added, he’d tel him to take more time to really pinpoint his desire, Rather than forgging ahead an idealized goal.
“I Think Another Thing Is, I offen Feel like the dog that caught the car,” He Said of Becoming a Development Manager at Microsoft, where he worked prior to openai and meta.
“The problem with Peaking Early, you know – Because of hit that level was I was probably, i don’t know, 30 years old or something like this – the problem is, you’re like a child actor,” su added. “The Question is, what are you going to do with the rest of your life?”
In Addition to Making Sure You Trully Want What You’re Chasing, if You’re Particularly Focussed on Your Career to the Exclusion of All ELSE, SU SAID YOU SHOULD BE PREPARED TO MAKRIFICES.
“So a: be sura than’s really what do you want. And part b is, be sura you’re comfortable with the Breaking Things, You Know?” He Said. “Becuses that is what it will get to get, if you want.”
Some Reeds “Bend,” Su Said, while Others “Break” Completely – SO it’s Worth evaluating your priorities with great care. In the Grand Scheme of a Career, he added, there’s ultimately not that it is much of a difference between becoming a senior Engineer at 30 versus 38.
“So it is like, how fast will I want to be at my terminal level? Like, what’s the real plan?” Su said. “Versus, Can of Keep a Healthy Relationship with my spouse, with my kids, right? That of important.”
SU DID NOT IMMEDIATEly Respond to A Request for Comment by Business Insider Prior to Publication.
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