I have 10 generics by end game. Always. At the start, I throw out every generic they give me and buy 7 more of my choosing. 3 males, 4 females. Then after Agrias joins, I throw out the 3 they give and I get 3 more generics, 2 female, 1 male.

The first time I played the game, my 2 first generics were named Chamberlain and Montana and Chamberlain was a monk/geomancer and Montana was a ninja and something else and darn if I didn't love those two more than the story characters. So now I'm writing a book and the main character is named Chamberlain Montana

Oh also, I give each of the initial 7 and Ramza 2 jobs. The 3 I get later are my dancer, bard, and mime.

I also barely ever use any story characters except Ramza.