3 Unexpected Benefits of Being a Jill/Jack of All Trades in a World that Prizes Subject Matter Experts
Being a Jill of all trades never boded well for my self-confidence — I felt like I was merely floating along as people around me were catching waves, left and right. In high school, although I was a straight-A student, I didn’t excel in anything in particular. My computational abilities weren’t nearly strong enough for the math team and my writing wasn’t good enough for the school newspaper.
This feeling of mediocrity followed me into adulthood — I started my career in financial services consulting, before pivoting into healthcare operations and non-profit management. In between, I completed short-term gigs in public policy, education, photography and writing. As I zig-zagged along in my 20s, I watched peers become subject matter experts in their respective fields and wondered if and when I’d find my specialty.
In case you were wondering, I never became a subject matter expert. I still consider myself to be a Jill of all trades. The only difference is that I’ve been learning to make peace with it and embracing the unexpected benefits that come with it. Here are three that come to mind:
1) I have the ability to combine different modalities and turn it into my own creation
When I first taught yoga, I knew I could teach yoga for an hour, as many yoga instructors do. However, I also knew I had other offerings I wanted to share with the world. As such, I designed my class where I could tap into multiple skills. More specifically, I structured my class in a way where I could lead a meditation, yoga session and guided discussion.
2) I can easily connect with and relate to people from all walks of life
Since I have a diverse array of professional (and lived) experiences, in most situations, I can easily connect with people and feel confident about having in-depth conversations on a variety of topics. Recently, I’ve been meeting a lot of new people — one day, I was talking to someone about how we can make educational reforms through public policy. The next day, I was commiserating with another individual about how being the photographer at a function means that we miss out on joining in on the fun.
3) Life never gets boring! — I follow whatever piques my interest and am open to seeing where it takes me
In the last few years, I’ve explored a multitude of interests ranging from improv comedy to memoir writing to yoga. Because I don’t feel the need to be a subject matter expert, this gives me more freedom to explore something new just for the sake of exploring.
Some pursuits have been one-time endeavors while others have turned into hobbies. Life is more fun when the journey matters more than the destination and it’s more interesting when you don’t know what to expect.
If you’ve felt like Jack or Jill of all trades, I want you to know that 1) you’re not alone and 2) the age-old saying of “A jack of all trades is a master of none”, which probably hasn’t left you feeling good about yourself, is only half complete. The saying, in its entirety, is as follows: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
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