High level vs. low level programming. Do I really have to choose?
- by EpsilonVector
Every once in a while I'm asked in interviews which I like the best- low level or high level. It seems to me that the implicit message is that they are both a specialty and they want to know which direction I'm heading. The trouble is, I seem to like both. Low level is extremely challenging and often requires a great deal of esoteric knowledge. High level is where all the sexy things happen: applications that people use directly, results that can be easily demonstrated (showed off) in a way that is accessible to everybody, and you get to work with really advanced tools and interact with new technologies.
I would really love to do both, even if it means alternating between them (I doubt there are jobs that will let me do both simultaneously), but I'm guessing that the industry rewards specialists more than generalists. Will it really be problematic career wise if I never choose one over the other? Is it practical to alternate between the two in the sense that if I were to leave a job doing one of them, I should experience no "friction" trying to get a job doing the other (assuming I'm reasonably in the loop)? Are there career opportunities where you get to do both?
Do I really have to choose one over the other?
