My friends used to joke, "Stick to one thing! Pick Django or iOS, don't do both!"
For a long time, I worried about the old saying: "A jack of all trades is a master of none." My portfolio felt like a buffet of experiments—Python automation, WhatsApp bots, AI products, hackathon builds. If curiosity struck, I tried it.
Then I read the full version of that quote:
"A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one."
That idea changed everything for me. Suddenly, my scattered projects weren't a lack of focus; they were my toolkit. Whether I was wiring up a Django backend, prototyping in Swift, or building AI products, I was learning new ways to solve problems.
The Renaissance Developer
I recently watched the AWS re:Invent Keynote by Werner Vogels, CTO of Amazon. He spoke about the "Renaissance Developer"—a concept that resonated deeply with me. In an era where AI is transforming how we write code, he argued that we need to evolve.
Here are three points from his talk that stood out:
- Think in systems, not just code. Understanding the whole picture is key to building resilient software.
- Be Curious. Curiosity drives learning and innovation. Protect your instinct to pull things apart and see how they work.
- Become a Polymath. Have deep expertise in one thing, but remain a generalist who knows how multiple things coexist to build a good product.
Understanding Under the Hood
This mindset of "understanding the whole" reminds me of my first real solo project—a simple diary app built with Django. I felt completely lost until my mentor gave me advice that stuck:
"Don't just learn Django. Understand what's happening under the hood."
He taught me to think, not just code. Since then, whether I'm building a payment gateway or exploring a new framework, I focus on the fundamentals. Tools change, but concepts don't.
In a world where AI can generate entire projects, the real risk is relying on it blindly. A friend recently told me how a minor update broke his entire setup, and the only reason he could fix it was that he knew what was happening under the hood.
The Superpower of the Generalist
Knowing both engineering and product management allows you to bridge the gap between business and technology. You can take a business need and turn it into a practical solution.
We, as developers, have gone through many transformations. We've evolved and used new tools to make big changes. In this era of AI, we have to evolve again. We need to be the Renaissance Developers who don't just write code, but understand systems, solve problems, and connect the dots.