Breaking the Mold

Don't confine yourself to what your job title says. Break out and do what interests you.

In development, whether it be software or the web, there are two aspects of every project that need attention. The front-end user interface and the back-end system. In the old school of thought, that would mean two different people or if big enough two different teams.

No longer is that necessarily the case.

With the boom in the entrepreneurial spirit, more and more you see people trying to strike it up on their own. Easiest way to do this? Handle both aspects of that development process. You might not end up as the best programmer and you might not end up as the best designer. But it is a special trait to be able to at least understand both and help the translation process.

You still have to be careful not to spread yourself so thin that you are no longer good at anything. “Jack of all trades, master of none” is the common phrase. Even if you play exclusively for one team or the other, it always helps to at least take a peak at the other team’s play book.