A "Jack-of-all-Trades" or a "Master of One", which is best?

help note: Jack-of-all-trades defined as, 1. better than average at most everything that one does. 2. a natural.  (but not good enough to earn a living at it)

help note: Master of One defined as, 1. the best at what one does but very poor at most every other thing they try. 2. able to earn a nice or better living at this one skill or talent.

just curious, thanks for your feedback.

lee 

i would choose master of one but im just a kid so what do i know

mercytononeZ wrote: i would choose master of one but im just a kid so what do i know

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 you know more than you think you do Zach.  you know enough to beat me at chess, now tell us what it is about being great at one thing that you like better than being just good at a lot of things.

 

you can make a living off of being great at one thing

 but you cant make a living off of being average at a lot of things

What a topic!!  I guess being jack of all trades would be good for every day living but a master would be excellent for your job, no matter what it is you do. 

I always thought the saying was "jack of all trades, master of none"

What is wrong with "master of all trades"?

NOTHING!!   IF (big if) you can do it.  i know of no one.  do you?

Several. And not all of them in the movies.

C'mon, don't be so vague.  Could they beat me at tennis or basketball or texas holdem (poker) or could they fly-fish or switch out a transmission on their car or replace the brake pads?  Could they repair a busted pipe under the house and sing a song in front of 500 people?  Are they really masters of all (many) things?   :-)

I did not say "instant" Master of all trades!

Certainly the "jack of all trades" makes for an interesting party companion, whereas the "master of one" (yes, the saying is "master of none", but for argument's sake, let's give him credit for one) might be a dull person except for the one thing he/she knows well. He/she knows more and more about less and less.

All I know is that I myself are NOT "master of one".

Jack of all trades, like me I'm a good javelin thrower a good high jumper and a good sprinter. But not as good as some people who do just one.

I like jack of all trades because I'm easily bored.  I can take something up and work hard at it and become competent or even better than most, but because of the law of diminishing returns, I will never be among the elite at anything.  I am not a good enough writer to make a living at it, I am not a good enough guitarist to be a professional musician, and I am not a good enough golfer to be a professional athlete.  As a teacher, however, I am competent enough to teach English literature and composition; I am competent enough to teach beginning guitar; and I am competent enough to coach a girls golf team.  In my English classes, sometimes I tie in history, math or science to the literature to the point that my students wonder if they are in the wrong class.  My day is varied and interesting, though no one would ever describe me as a master of anything.  I consider myself lucky, but then I realize that my various abilities have enabled me to take advantage of opportunities that I would not have been qualified for if I was master of something.

The big problem with being expert at ONE thing is that if anything should happen to make it impossible to do that one thing, then what? It's always good to have a backup skill ready to employ, though usually "Master of one" implies a total devotion to the one interest or passion.

I already feel like a jack of all trades, but I'd really like to master one some day.  I do have a lot of interests of which I do feel like I excel to a certain extent more than the general public, but I can't really think of one which I could definitively say that I mastered.