I have been seriously wondering about this. I'm mid 30s developer who has (because of jobs) switched domains multiple times over the last 10 years.
I've learned 7 programming languages, COUNTLESS frameworks (both backend, and frontend), across many different domains... frontend web, native mobile, hybrid mobile, backend, even dabbled in firmware for a few years. All of these in a professional context, where I was shipping real live code.
If there's been one constant in my career it's been change. Change is constant. I can absolutely expect that in a given ~3 year timespan, I will need to learn a new language, domain, framework, etc.
The result is absolutely that I feel like a jack of all trades, but a master of none. I can pick up new languages and frameworks quickly, but I don't ever feel intimately familiar with any given language or framework or domain. I don't feel like a "master" of anything other than, perhaps, mastering the ability to learn new . It sucks.
Perhaps not coincidentally, I've struggled with feelings of burnout. Looking back on my career over the last 10 years, it feels like a constant sprint. Of course I'm a better developer today than I was 10 years ago, but I know that the future only brings one thing: New technologies, new frameworks, new languages. I will need to learn those, and only a fraction of my current knowledge will apply.
It's hard not to feel like you're treading water in this industry. I can learn anything, but for long? For how many years, or decades, am I willing to do this? It feels like I need to either accept that this is the reality of this industry, that the biggest skill I can have is willingness and ability to learn, or, accept defeat.
I've learned 7 programming languages, COUNTLESS frameworks (both backend, and frontend), across many different domains... frontend web, native mobile, hybrid mobile, backend, even dabbled in firmware for a few years. All of these in a professional context, where I was shipping real live code.
If there's been one constant in my career it's been change. Change is constant. I can absolutely expect that in a given ~3 year timespan, I will need to learn a new language, domain, framework, etc.
The result is absolutely that I feel like a jack of all trades, but a master of none. I can pick up new languages and frameworks quickly, but I don't ever feel intimately familiar with any given language or framework or domain. I don't feel like a "master" of anything other than, perhaps, mastering the ability to learn new . It sucks.
Perhaps not coincidentally, I've struggled with feelings of burnout. Looking back on my career over the last 10 years, it feels like a constant sprint. Of course I'm a better developer today than I was 10 years ago, but I know that the future only brings one thing: New technologies, new frameworks, new languages. I will need to learn those, and only a fraction of my current knowledge will apply.
It's hard not to feel like you're treading water in this industry. I can learn anything, but for long? For how many years, or decades, am I willing to do this? It feels like I need to either accept that this is the reality of this industry, that the biggest skill I can have is willingness and ability to learn, or, accept defeat.