The IT sector is evolving rapidly – not just technologically, but also in terms of expectations placed on professionals. Today’s developers, data engineers, or DevOps specialists are increasingly expected to be multi-talented. Job postings and interviews more often describe candidates who can cover several areas at once – for example, someone who can develop software, manage cloud infrastructure, and optimize deployment processes.

The New Standard: Multiple Roles in One

Over the past few years, a clear trend has emerged: IT professionals are expected to be versatile, adaptable, and capable of working across multiple disciplines. A full-stack developer is now often expected to have experience with DevOps, cloud platforms, and automated testing. A data engineer may be asked to handle everything from data pipeline development to machine learning and business intelligence.

These expectations go far beyond traditional “T-shaped” skillsets. In many cases, we’re seeing a merging of multiple expert roles into one profile.

Why This Shift?

1. Talent Shortage
   The demand for skilled IT professionals remains high, but there is a shortage of qualified specialists. Companies are therefore seeking candidates who can cover multiple functions, reducing the need for large teams and cutting hiring delays.
2. Increasing Project Complexity
   Modern IT projects are interdisciplinary by nature. The traditional separation of development, operations, data analysis, and QA is being replaced by agile, cross-functional teams. Professionals who understand multiple domains work more efficiently and communicate better across departments.
3. Technological Convergence
   Infrastructure, data processing, and software development are more interconnected than ever. Tools like Kubernetes, Terraform, Airflow, dbt, GitLab CI/CD, or Spark require knowledge that spans across disciplines. The “pure” backend developer or “only” data scientist is becoming the exception.

What Does This Mean in Practice?

A quick look at current job ads shows:

• Full-stack developers are expected to handle DevOps, testing, cloud platforms, and sometimes even UX.
• Data engineers are taking on responsibilities that used to belong to data scientists, BI developers, and cloud architects.
• DevOps engineers are now also responsible for security, infrastructure as code, and even machine learning deployment.

Opportunities – and Clear Limits

For IT professionals, this opens exciting new career opportunities. Those with broad and deep knowledge are in high demand, well compensated, and often enjoy greater flexibility. However, there’s also a risk of overload when companies fail to define which skills are truly essential – and which are merely “nice to have.”

Conclusion

The trend is clear: the IT industry is increasingly looking for multi-skilled professionals who can combine technical depth with cross-functional capabilities. Companies benefit from this flexibility – but must be careful to set realistic expectations. For professionals, this means investing in ongoing education, while also recognizing and respecting personal boundaries.

In a world where technologies are deeply intertwined, broad knowledge becomes one of the most valuable assets. But even the most versatile profile needs a clear focus – and sustainable working conditions.