Jack of All Trades, Master of Your Threadline

Why multidimensional careers aren’t a liability—and why they might just be your insurance policy for the future.

There’s a quote that haunts many of us who don’t fit neatly into one job title:

“Jack of all trades, master of none.”

It’s often lobbed at people like us—those who’ve zigzagged across careers, collected skills like seashells, and stubbornly refused to stay in one lane. It’s meant to keep us small. Disciplined. “Focused.”

But here’s the full quote—the one they never tell you:

“Jack of all trades, master of none—but oftentimes better than master of one.”

Now that’s more like it.

If your résumé reads more like a mixtape than a genre-specific album, you’re not the problem. You might be the prototype.

Why I Built a Portfolio Career—And Why You Might Need One Too

A former supervisor once told me I “get bored too easily.” She meant it as an insult. A flaw I needed to fix. And for a while, I tried. I narrowed my path. Picked a lane. Made myself smaller.

But here’s something we don’t talk about enough:

For women in particular, the pressure to be digestible—professionally and personally—is baked into nearly every workplace and social interaction. We’re praised for being focused, not for being full-spectrum. When we present as multidimensional—creative and analytical, strategic and scrappy—it can make people uncomfortable. We get labeled as flakey, indecisive, or unserious.

Ambiguity gets misread as a lack of leadership. Breadth gets mistaken for a lack of depth.

I’ve felt that discomfort in rooms where I was too operational for the brand team, and too “creative” for finance. Where having worked as both a nonprofit strategist and a fashion founder somehow disqualified me from being taken seriously in either domain.

But the truth is, I’m not unfocused. I’m just unwilling to flatten myself to fit someone else’s box.

Yes, I get bored easily. But that’s not a flaw. That’s data. That’s insight into how I’m wired—and one of the reasons I built a portfolio career in the first place.

But curiosity alone isn’t the reason I work this way. It’s not just about creative fulfillment—it’s about strategic survival.

The World of Work Is Changing—Fast

And most people have no idea how unprepared they are.

Mass layoffs aren’t a blip—they’re the new business model. According to recent reports, layoffs in the U.S. are at their highest point since the pandemic.

Entry-level jobs are drying up. Middle management is being gutted. Org charts are getting leaner by the quarter. And AI? It’s not coming for the future of work—it’s already here.

(And yes, I’m a big believer in Universal Basic Income—but that’s an essay for another day.)

The 40-year career with benefits? It’s a fairytale. And the people who thrive won’t be the ones with the most polished résumés—they’ll be the ones who’ve learned how to flex.

Those who understand their value outside of a job title. Those who’ve built systems around their skills. Those who can adapt—without unraveling.

That’s why I built this career—not just because it suits me. Because I believe it’s where work is going.

From Chaos to Coherence: Finding My Threadline