in defense of the jack of all trades

I really hate that saying, that one is a “jack of all trades, master of none.” I believe the jack of all trades can become a relatively alright master at something, and that’s good enough.

Yes, I major in biology. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t be interested in musicals, physics, typography, audio engineering, coding, knitting etc. and biology all at the same time.

For a long time, I didn’t like how I seemed to be an all-rounder: average at most things, with no “spike” to write about on my college applications. Heck, I took the SAT and managed to get the exact same math and reading scores. I am not talented and definitely not gifted. If I get better at something, I believe it is because I spend more time and effort working on it than most, not because I was somehow a natural.

I wished I was a specialist. I would have easy answers to so many questions. What am I going to major in? What kind of career should I aim for? Surely, if I am good at something, I can just do that for a living, right? The kid who’s good at math should probably do something in the sciences or engineering. The kid who can sing should be a singer. The kid who writes well should do something in the humanities.

What happens to the kid who isn’t great at math but still wants to understand science? To the kid who isn’t great at singing but loves to sing? To the kid who does not write especially well but still loves the humanities?

I am the kid who isn’t great at things and still loves them. But even if I love them, I cannot make them my career if I am not good at them. People hire someone because they can do the job, not because they love it.

So all I can do is slowly work on getting better at one thing, while working on everything else at the same time, but at an even slower pace. I just need to get good enough at one thing until I get a job that pays enough.

In some ways, biology is the perfect major for someone like me. Biology reaches into the other sciences, chemistry and physics, but only on a surface level, so there’s no need for any math past single variable calculus. There’s lots of reading in the form in academic papers - dry, sure, but its fascinating sometimes. A good amount of classes rely so heavily on rote memorization and logic that students swear by good old flashcards.

I am a “jack of all trades” and that’s alright. I may not be a master at anything, but I’ll more than make up for it with width and hard work.