Choose your path

Most classes are able to choose a path or more commonly known as a spec. For some the diversaty in this is more prominent then others, a Rogue is still a dpsclass whichever path he chooses... one spec might be more fit for solo, an other for raids and a 3rd for pvp (guessing here) but in the end it's all about dealing damage. The same story goes for Mages, Hunters and Warlocks.
Some other classes can go into 2 or even 3 directions; Warriors can choose for a tank build or for a dpsbuild and Shamans can choose between 2 dps builds (caster and melee) or a healing build while a Priest can choose to heal or dps.
Druids and Paladins can choose to go dps, healing ór tanking which makes them the most versatile class.

Now when i rolled my Hunter it soon became clear; i was gonna be a damage dealer.. there wasn't an other option anyway so i would try to be the best i could. I've tried each talentree on various stages always following the one who would give me the highest possible dps.
But what if you rolled a Druid for example? Perhaps you rolled him just because it was so cool he could shapeshift, not even realising at high level you would be pushed to follow a certain path.. a time ago a Druid was a Jack of all trades but king of none but nowadays they can master each tree as long as they are specced right.
Paladins used to be the just fit for healing but Blizzard has given them options to dps and tank aswell, how well they perform in those directions still result in heavy discussions so i won't go into that just now (yet) but the choice is there.

A while back i rolled a Shaman... why? I didn't play one before (at least not beyond level 11) and was curious of the class. I started out the first 15 levels with an Elemental spec (the caster dps version) but then i switched to Enhancement as going OOM all of the time was quite frustrating and limited my questspeed. But now i'm nearing 70 i'm starting to wonder what direction i should choose.
My choices are affected by my other toons however; i have Hunter so dps is sorted.. i have a Warrior which is protection specced so i have a tank, the only direction missing is a healer.
I healed a bit on my Druidalt back in the MC days but i don't think i quite mastered it back then, i'm not sure yet i will ever but perhaps i could.. i simply don't know at this point. But i'm having quite some fun on my Shaman as dps aswell, would i want to risk speccing into a direction i wouldn't like afterall?

For people with more spec options there might be another thing to consider: Requirement. On my tank it's pretty damn easy getting a party for an instance and even on my Hunter it aint that hard. But what if i am an dps Shammy? No CC (CrowdControl; Trapping, Sheeping, Seduce, etc) makes them a somewhat more impopular choice for at least Heroic instances. As a Resto Shaman it would be quite a bit easier to get a group but then i would be required to keep the people in my party alive.. with such limited healing experience and crap gear that might be quite a challenge.
I've healed a bit in the past even on my Enhancement Shaman in Zul'Farrak but we had a good tank there... ever tried healing a pug where the Rogue thought he could better tank then the Warrior and the Mage rather AoE'd his own sheep ánd the Hunters trap then assisting the tank? Not to speak about a Hunter who adores his Multishot skill, a living nightmare for any healer. Not exactly something i am looking forward too... i've already experienced this sort of parties on my Druid in the past and that was more then enough.

Just 6 more levels and my Shaman is 70 and i better try to have figured out what i want to do by then. Preferable even earlier so i can grab some kit for an other spec aswell... altho my GF ninja'ing a healingkit for her Paladin aswell might make that abit harder. :)