How Mongoose Traveller's Skill Specializations Work (and what that can or should mean for our game)

So, after the awkwardness over Electronics Skill vs. Engineering (Electronics), I decided to look up how exactly they are supposed to work. It turns out, they work like this:

Level 0 skills have no specialization, and are generalized.
Level 1+ skills have a specialization; the out-of-specialization versions of the skill can still be used at Level 0, unless those too are raised separately.

References:
How Mongoose Skills and Specializations Work
Mongoose Traveller Skills and Specializations

So, what to do? I figure there are 3 practical options; I'm not entirely sure which is most appropriate, because I don't know how Classic Traveller works and if it has any defaulting, and which version of Traveller we should be leaning towards:

• Skills that can be specialized start entirely specialized; there's no defaulting.
• We keep the character generation systems separate, judge them separately, and assume that they'll stay balanced
• We transition to one specific set of skills from either edition

Book Bad, Smash Good!

"How can you read this? There are no pictures." -Gaston (Beauty and the Beast)

The player who rolled up Raistlin Majere, the upper echelon of famous wizards, scored an 8 on his Constitution, lower than average. Yet they kept the score, seeing a story potential and challenge in the final draft.

I too see story potential with the scores both high and low on my character. The high scores do him credit and the low scores present challenges to come. And I see nothing wrong with his skills as they are.

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance an account, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." - Lazarus Long (Time Enough For Love)

I'm not sure why you posted this; if my character took "Engineering", I should know what it's good for and what it isn't, so I don't try to misuse it, and don't miss using it when I should. If the GM wants to rule that "Engineering: Electronics" is indistinguishable from the older Electronics skill, that's fine by me, but I should get to know one way or the other.