Above is my “T shaped skills”. It demonstrates my applied skills and deep expertise during the apex of my career.
T shaped employees are able to work across business verticals while contributing their main master craft. Therefore the shape of a “T”.
T shaped skills can also be referred to as generalist skills against specialist skills.
In a nut shell, i had deep expertise in Oracle JD Edwards development between 2010 and 2012 when i worked for a Mining company.
After 2012, i moved into the data integrations space and completed a few major projects.
On 2016, my role was made redundant. I decided to spend this career break on; – improving my health condition, family, skills, and home renovations.
With many years passing my JDE role, i no longer see myself as an expert in it. It is proprietary technology.
I now choose to specialize in anything that is open source and future proof.
I now look like below.
My T shaped skills are now just a line of generalist skills.
I seek to one day specialize in wordpress themes, plugins, and linux security. I have purchased advanced courses on these tech spaces, and there are lots to learn and experience.
I have given myself a set of baby steps to achieve these deep specializations.
I hope for the future to look like the bellow T shape.
Since 2016 my mental health has been in decline. As of October 2024 i am unable to work full time and have been assessed to have a capacity of 7 hrs per week.
My mental health condition reduces my ability to concentrate. However, I plan to battle on and relearn word press so i can help not for profit organizations and their websites.
Care giving for my frail mum who is a fall risk patient, and learning, fills my time these days.