Just to add, this is one of my favorite things about being a programmer. There's something incredibly satisfying to go from zero knowledge on a topic, to sufficient familiarity to program something about it, and then to drop it. Even better when you run into the same problem again years later and can magically solve it effortlessly.
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what is most in-demand programmer discipline in industry?
In addition:
Small companies and tiny teams (like those building incremental software and contract projects) tend to prefer generalists. When there are 3 programmers on the team they each need to know and figure out how to do it all.
Larger companies with huge teams (like those building a AAA engine) tend to prefer specialists. When there are 150 programmers on the team, you can be picky to get someone who has lots of experience in a specific task.
Both types are needed. Even better for a person who has skills of a generalist and also a few specialties, these have more career opportunities available.