[analog31]

I think yes. I have colleagues that are in certain fields because those things really are their passion, and they want to get as good as possible at them. For instance a mechanical or electrical engineer who really doesn't care what the GUI for using the product is going to look like.

Sometimes it's a true passion for a field, other times it's because there would be so much friction switching tools or learning the internal standards and tools of a business. For instance programming means not only coding, but also familiarity with the tools, libraries, and coding standards of a coding shop, which take time to learn.

Sometimes it's just due to human nature, that larger organizations become silo'd, and practicing two skills means navigating the politics of two silo's, twice the number of meetings, etc. Also, if you belong to silo A, and help out with B, then the manager of A gets annoyed with you. So in a sense specialization is a way to find a comfort zone in a typical human organization, even in what are considered to be good workplaces.