Don’t Be a Jack of All Tech—Here’s How to Specialize in Tech

Because Knowing “a Little Bit of Everything” Isn’t a Career Plan

Let’s get real: learning everything in tech is the fastest route to burnout and career indecision. One day you’re building a chatbot, the next you’re watching a DevOps tutorial on Kubernetes and wondering if you’ve joined a cult.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth:

Being “decent” at 12 things doesn’t make you stand out in one.

Tech doesn’t reward generalists at the start—it rewards visible, focused skill. If you’re trying to break into the field, specializing doesn’t limit you. It accelerates your momentum and makes you memorable to employers, clients, and collaborators.

Let’s figure out where to plant your flag.

🤔 Why Specialization Matters (Especially Early On)

Think of your tech journey like a video game. You don’t start as a Level 1 character with 7 skill trees unlocked. You pick one class, master it, and then branch out once you’ve leveled up.

In other words:

• Specialization builds depth (which creates authority)
• Depth builds trust (which creates opportunities)
• Opportunities build income (which buys you coffee and confidence)

Plus, no hiring manager wants a “kind of okay Python, kind of okay React, kind of okay cloud” person. They want a “this person gets AI ops” person.

🔍 So… How Do You Pick a Specialization?

Here’s the decision framework no career coach ever gave you:

1️⃣ What do you enjoy doing—even when it’s hard?

• Love cleaning messy data? Hello, data science.
• Obsessed with building systems that run on autopilot? Automation is calling.
• Can’t stop tweaking ChatGPT prompts? You're halfway to NLP engineering.
• Like fixing things that break in weird ways? Cybersecurity or DevOps.

If you’re not sure, think back to the projects you enjoyed most—or hated the least. That’s your starting clue.

2️⃣ What kind of problems do you want to solve?

This is key. Tech isn’t about tools—it’s about problems.

• Want to help businesses make better decisions? → Data analytics
• Want to build apps that automate human effort? → AI/ML or no-code automation
• Want to help secure systems? → Cybersecurity
• Want to make existing software smarter? → NLP, GenAI, or AI engineering

3️⃣ What career paths are growing (and pay well)?

You can specialize in anything, but if you want to eat this year, maybe don’t go all in on Fortran.

Here are a few high-demand tech specialties:

• AI/ML Engineer – Build smart models, fine-tune LLMs, write code that teaches code.
• Data Scientist – Analyze trends, build prediction models, communicate with charts instead of emojis.
• Prompt Engineer – Design inputs for AI tools that create content, code, or answers. Surprisingly lucrative.
• Automation Specialist – Use tools like Zapier, Make.com, and GPT-based APIs to build workflows.
• NLP Engineer – Work with language models, chatbots, text analytics. (Basically ChatGPT’s cousin.)
• Cloud DevOps – Deploy apps, manage infrastructure, pretend to understand Kubernetes.

📣 Once You Pick a Specialty—Show the Internet You Mean It

This is where most people give up. They learn quietly. They build silently. They hope someone notices.

Don’t do that.

Instead:

1️⃣ Build a Project in That Specialty

• One solid portfolio project in your niche beats ten random GitHub gists.
• Document it like a mini case study: what you built, why, and how.

2️⃣ Create Content About It

• Write a blog post explaining a concept in simple terms
• Make a short LinkedIn post sharing what you learned this week
• Record a Loom video walking through a mini project

The goal isn’t to be famous. It’s to build searchable proof that you know what you’re doing.

💼 Want Help Choosing a Specialty That Fits You?

My free tech roadmap guide walks through:

• How to pick a focus (even if you like everything)
• Career paths that don’t require coding (yes, really)
• How to match your interests to growing opportunities
• A timeline for growing your skills and your portfolio

👇 Get the guide:

• Already subscribed? Click here to download your copy.
• Not subscribed yet? Join the newsletter here and I’ll email it to you instantly.

Next up: How to monetize your skills—whether you want a job, freelance gigs, or to sell a digital product in your pajamas.

You’ve got the skill. Now it’s time to own the lane.