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Ask HN: Is it better to specialize in economic downturns?

by SuboptimalEng on 12/5/23, 8:17 PM with 4 comments

When I apply to companies these days, most recruiters want to see experience relevant to the role that I'm applying for. I don't get callbacks for backend roles even though I've been a full-stack engineer.

Companies like Google now do team matching before the final round.

FB recruiter mentioned that you can have role-based interviews on the initial loop and final loop. So I could have different interviews depending on my specialization (frontend, backend, mobile, ar/vr).

I can understand that specialized interview processes make sense for senior+ roles, but I'm a mid-level full-stack generalist.

My main questions are:

1. Is there a shift in the industry in how interviews are being conducted?

2. Is it better to specialize in a specific role (frontend, backend, data engineer, ai/ml, ar/vr graphics) than to be a full-stack generalist?

3. Do specialized engineers have a better chance of landing (and/or retaining) jobs in the case of an economic downturn (layoffs)?

I feel that specializing seems to be the best path forward for me, but I'm curious if anyone else has sensed this shift or if I'm just wrong.

  • by forward1 on 12/5/23, 8:33 PM

    It probably varies a great deal by specialization, but speaking as a HM for my security group, specialization is miniscule almost to the point of irrelevance, in favor of attitude, ability to collaborate with other engineers, and leadership potential. Most - if not all - technical knowledge needed to succeed in this role can be learned, either on the job or with some spare time.

  • by gigatexal on 12/5/23, 8:27 PM

    No at least from my point of view. I’m a team lead now. If my higher ups said okay your team needs to be half by next quarter I would prefer I had generalists capable of many things than a handful of very specialized folks.