You Should Become A Hybrid Web Developer

http://collaborable.com/blog/you-should-become-a-hybrid-developer

by ericingram • 15 years ago

5 3 15 years ago

orangewarp• 15 years ago

It's interesting to hear about these emerging hybrid niches. Clearly the idea of hybrid positions extends beyond just art and engineering. It can span across many different kinds of disciplines: content, instructional design, business, programming. Those that can cross between these different areas can really tie together the threads of communication and understanding across different parts of a project.

That said, I think it's also really crucial for every member to be a specialist in something. The most productive group dynamics I've been in have been the ones where each member clearly understands their role and can execute it with flourish. Most of the talented bright people I know are usually hybrids in some regard anyway but above all, they are outstanding in a specific way which the other team members recognize.

If I had to choose between 5 people each with their respective DEPTH of knowledge and ability vs. 5 hybrids with breadth, I'll take depth in a heartbeat. Although, it might be cool to have 1 hybrid with excellent communication skills and 4 specialists!

ericingram• 15 years ago

You make a great point. I was going to title the blog "Hybrid Developer Bridge the UX Design Gap", which is really what I believe happens, but figured the title sounded confusing for those who aren't into UX design. It really does span disciplines, not just web design/programming.

mtrn• 15 years ago

Coding is hard enough. The last projects required design from scratch, so I did it (and people even kind of liked it, "clean and functional" ;) - but it's not my first love. So I'm a semi-hybrid.

On the other hand, I used to have a hard time finding graphic designers, who can think about usability and elegance and can actually implement the thing in a great and maintainable way. Would welcome these hybrids, really.

(And a last bit: One of the nicer designs I dealt with directly was imagined and implemented by a perl hacker, hehe.)

You Should Become A Hybrid Web Developer

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