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I like to consider myself to be a "Jack of all trades." Unfortunately I also thing twice about that assessment because of the second part of that phrase: "master of none." Although development would be my biggest strength, I would not label myself a master since I tend to aspire to other developers that I would indeed consider masters in that field.

My second strength would be my ability to design graphical web layouts. I don't consider myself to be a "Graphics Artist" because when it comes to the web, I take issue with that title. If someone can draw a rectangle in Photoshop, or put a bunch of them together to make a webpage, a more appropriate term for that skill-set would probably be a Web Layout Designer or Web Layout Architect (I'm making stuff up now, I know). So really, my issue is when someone labels themselves as an "artist" if boxes or rectangles are their only know-how. An individual is an artist when they can actually create art. With out debating the definition of art, I'm simply talking about someone having the ability to draw. If a person can draw things in perspective that exist in this world by hand on paper or tablet and it's acceptably professional, then yes they've earned the right to call themselves an artist. Otherwise, that person is just a great layout designer: much like an interior designer - for example - that understands how and what should go where and what color works best.

It's a good thing I didn't set up a blog, because I can see how something I've just said would tickle someone the wrong way. Now that I'm done with my little rant, if there was one thing that I would consider myself to be a master of, it would be neither development nor web layouts. It would be my understanding of musical harmony and rhythm. I'm fortunate to have inherited a near-perfect pitch from my parents (skim over my bio if you haven't already so this bit makes sense) and my sense for beat is dead on. I say near-perfect because if I had true perfect pitch like my dad, I would be able to sing any note with out having to hear it first. I can't quite do that but I can do so after I've listened to the note, and precisely identify when someone is or is not in tune.

These innate abilities are the real tools that help me with my projects and media endeavors. So my technical skills combined with some underlying strengths are the things I convey when I suggest that I'm a Jack of all trades. Beyond development, graphics, and music I do scratch the surface with some of the tools I use to achieve a presentation, but having a broad understanding is a good thing, is it not?

I think so.

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