If you're a graduate or assessing your long term career option, one question you'll have to consider is whether to choose the path of a generalist or a specialist.

It's not an easy question to answer because of the changing nature of roles within large organisations and the increasing pressure put on all employees. You need to decide which presents the most rewarding and the most secure employment path for you.

Finding a niche
Specialists are often individuals who have chosen their career from an early age, and have spent their education finding out everything they can about a specific area of interest.

Anyone can be a specialist, and anything can be a specialism. If you want to be the UK 's leading authority on left handed screwdrivers, there's nothing to stop you. Just remember that the smaller your specialist area, the smaller your career opportunities.

The rewards for excellence can be very high indeed. Create a name for yourself as a cosmetic surgeon or a divorce lawyer, and you will be among the highest paid of professionals.

As a specialist, the expectations on you will be extremely high. You need to retain the highest levels of excellence and continually update your knowledge so you stay ahead of the profession. The best specialists are thought-leaders, writing blogs and contributing to industry publications on key developments.

If you're working as a specialist within a large organisation you'll want to position yourself as one of the 'go-to-people' in your company. You'll be the first to be called upon when a specific opportunities and problems arise.

The downside is that whilst you'll be working within highly defined areas of the business, you may not be consulted, or your opinion valued, on other issues. To counteract this, be flexible and learn about other functions within your business and network outside of your group or organisation.

One of the crowd
If you're a not 100% sure of the career path you wish to take, or are looking for a bit more variety in your work, then becoming a generalist may be the best option.

In order to be successful, you'll need to build a good understanding of a range of business disciplines from initial planning and budgeting through project implementation and onto analysis.

This means you're not limited to applying for any one discipline or industry sector and therefore, the job opportunities are greater. But remember, there will also be greater competition for openings.

Your rewards and progress through the corporate structure will be dependant upon your aptitude to learn and prove yourself within the defined industry sector you are working in. As you have no core specialisation to fall back on, your key attribute will be your experience gained within that industry sector.

Choosing a generalist career path doesn't mean you lack knowledge, or that people will not consult you, but that your knowledge ranges across a broader range of disciplines within a specific industry. It's also worth remembering that the higher up the corporate ladder you go, the more of a generalist you'll have to be, whether you started out in a particular discipline or not.

Mixing it up
Whichever route you choose, there is strong evidence to show that a strong interdisciplinary knowledge is one of the ways of making yourself indispensible.

Being a specialist is an option in any environment, but don't limit your career options by being labeled a ‘one trick pony'. General business acumen and cross-discipline experience are vital for a long and successful career.