Jack of all trades and master of none?

Things you may not know about me: I speak a little french, I have attended acting classes, I have taken a short course in swedish massage, I have a cooking magazine subscription, I have just started sewing classes (so I can do dress making in Summer), and plan on starting a DIY course in October. Or I am a bilingual drama queen with strong hands that does a mean morrocan chicken, wearing old cushion covers as a shirt, eyeing up your plumbing. But am I any good at any of them or does being distinctly average at many things give me the upper hand?

I mention all this with reference to interdisciplinary research projects. A recent survey published in Science Careers (L. Bonetta, The Evolving Post Doctoral Experience, Science Careers, 2009) revealed many interesting statistics which I could blog lyrical about. The one that struck me the most was that 39% of supervisors said that there current postdoc is what they would consider 'outstanding.' Now Science Careers say that 'only 39%' are considered outstanding and I'm not sure personally if that over a third being outstanding is a bad or good number. The point that they made is that this was a drop from the previous survey in 2007 from 45 %. One explanation for this drop was explained by David Kreil, Boku University, Vienna, "It is rare to find postdocs with really strong skills in both life sciences and in a technical area."

Is it right that postdocs should not been deemed excellent because they are no longer specialists but gleaning a limited amount of various skills across disciplines? Is this not the fodder of grant proposals and the aid to a flurry of ideas? Should there be a more factory line process e.g. chemist, biologist, pharmacist, it didn't work, start again?

With regards to my own research, I think it is imperative to understand my work completely, to create a flow of good ideas and how the research translates. Being capable of doing that to the level I want to is extremely challenging. I have tried attending undergraduate pharmacy classes but it is not always possible to fit them in and I have been trying to read pharmacology and physiology textbooks (Cheers G-is the liver really that important?). I need to be realistic about what I need to know, form some questions, talk to the specialists and hopefully get pointed in the right direction.

My biggest worry about being a jack of all trades is when the time comes to move to a new job: sum yourself up in 3 words...'good all rounder.' Employable?

I particularly like knowing a wee bit about all the areas to do with my research. My task over the next 2 years is to become outstandingly non-specialised!

Sarah