The Wisdom Of Cross-training

Lately I've been considering the value of developing talents in multiple key areas rather than focusing everything on specialization. Truth is, most people I know prefer to specialize. They say, "Oh yeah, I'm an FPGA guy," and they identify with that as their primary skill rather than broadening their horizons and asking, "what skills would compliment this one in a unique and useful way?" And that's the key, you ideally want to develop complementary skills that:

1. Not a lot of other people have
2. Compliment each other and are useful together

I'm not just talking about a double major in x and y; more like an entire career's worth of experience in two fields that one wouldn't normally think of as related. When you have years of experience that's unique and useful you can create things that the world has never seen before without having to worry about any competition.

If it's a job you're after, then you have to make sure you market yourself correctly once you've picked the right combo. For example, consider a computer programmer who is excellent at public speaking and interacting with customers to determine their needs. It's a rare combo that could be extremely valuable to the right company, but most would be glad to just stick him in a cube and be done with it. So he'd need to pay attention, communicate his strengths, and pick a position with a company that understood his value.

So what are some rare and useful combinations, and how could you use them to your advantage? Here are some suggestions. Can you think of others?

1. Direct Marketing + Software Development: Design a wizard that allows people to present customized marketing content based on known information about a user, the keyword a user was searching for, etc, to create a tailored experience for each prospect.
2. Web Design + Creative Writing: Design an attractive new portal for presenting fiction online. Think Amazon.com eBook reader that doesn't look and feel like it was designed by a brainless monkey.
3. UI Design Principles + Hardware & Electronics Fabrication: This is how you create an iPod, iPhone, Kindle, etc... Except you should aim for a device that doesn't already have a super-chic high-end version, like maybe the handheld home electricity meter, a device that's only going to become more popular in the coming years.