On Apr 2, 2009, at 8:52 AM, Sarah Kampman wrote:
"In our training institutions, we don't have an equivalent notion to
resident rotation, where those new to the field get to experience the
entire thing, then choose their specialty."
That may be true; I didn't go to school for UX. But I'd argue that
start-ups provide this type of skills rotation. I've worked at more
than
one small company where I've been, as needed: UI designer, usability
specialist, webmaster, tech writer, trainer, graphic designer, project
manager, front-end coder, QA, marketing copywriter, and sales
engineer.
I'd never have gotten all that experience in a large company or as a
solo contractor. So maybe a stint in a start-up how to move from
compartmentalist to specialist. ;-)
Sarah,
You make an excellent point. What you describe is working as a
generalist. Spending time working as a generalist will certainly
rotate you through the specialties.
However, what you find in a true resident rotation program is a
specialist mentor in each field. So, as the residents rotate through
each specialty (usually for a period of six to eight weeks), they are
being taught, critiqued, and guided by someone with experience.
The generalist environment, especially in a startup, doesn't typically
lend itself to that type of mentorship. So, while a startup-based
generalist is getting an opportunity to be a jack of all trades, they
aren't getting a structured educational aspect. It's likely that many
of the habits, tricks, and techniques they develop are not the most
effective (and certainly not the best-of-breed) for that speciality.
Jared
Jared M. Spool
User Interface Engineering
510 Turnpike St., Suite 102, North Andover, MA 01845
e: [email protected] p: +1 978 327 5561
http://uie.com Blog: http://uie.com/brainsparks Twitter: jmspool
UIE Web App Summit, 4/19-4/22: http://webappsummit.com
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