I was wondering during my morning commute (which allows for a LOT of wondering) how one can be considered an expert. Would one need to be published? Would one need to be granted something from some accredited authority?
Some googling resulted in http://expertenough.com/1276/how-do-you-know-when-youre-expert-enough
It points out:
ex·pert
ˈekˌspərt/
noun
- 1.a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area."experts in child development"
synonyms: specialist, authority, pundit; More
Which means to some I am above an expert, however, to others I am merely a novice. I feel funny asking people if I am an expert in something or if they think I'm good enough at a particular task. And when people refer to me as a guru I feel embarrassed and dismiss it quickly.
I have recently become aware that I am an expert in my profession, at least to the people that I support. The customers I deal with are the top in their fields, they are seasoned professionals with years (decades) of experience with computer systems. When they say things to me like, "thats genius" or, "I would not have thought of that" I feel accomplished. But that I don't think about is even if they are not complementing me they are still coming to me for help. In fact, I have some customers that seek me out over other techs! I've asked why and have been told it is because they know I will do a thorough job and that it will be done correctly.
So if you are someone who is working toward an educational or professional goal and are wanting to know if you are an expert you can ask around to peers and see if they think you are or just think about how many of your peers come to you with questions.
