Are you (or do you know) an expert?

[pavulon]

Have been reading some research on this. Beyond education and experience, what do you believe contributes to becoming an honest expert?

[Dantilla]

I type things on the internet. That makes me an eggspurt!

[stomachmonkey]

Being right more often than being wrong.

[Hugh R]

I don't know your context for the question. But I've been an expert witness a couple of times on court cases, when I was a consultant. I've been deposed on about six cases, but never given testimony in front of a jury. In my business an expert witness is very hard to find, because most people with the qualifications to render an opinion are working in the same industry for a competing company.

An expert basically means you can convince someone to hire you because you know more about the subject than they do. Practical hands-on experience is also a plus.

My first expert witness case the lawyer asked me my hourly rate I told him $95/hour. He said I wouldn't be taken seriously at that rate and told me to bill $350/hour. The other side has to pay you your hourly rate in a deposition so that they know what you are going to say in court. One month, I billed almost $60,000.

[Gogar]

10,000 hours at doing the same thing makes you an expert according to Malcolm Gladwell. I don't think wanking it qualifies.

[pavulon]

Sorry. For clarity:
An expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well-distinguished domain. An expert, more generally, is a person with extensive knowledge or ability based on research, experience, or occupation and in a particular area of study.

[Jim Richards]

Originally Posted by Gogar

10,000 hours at doing the same thing makes you an expert according to Malcolm Gladwell. I don't think wanking it qualifies.

Don't let the PARF crowd hear this. You'll shatter their self-confidence.

[porsche4life]

Most of my customers consider me an expert on the technology I sell....


Sadly they don't know how wrong they are about that.....

[mikesride]

Somebody that knows more and more about less and less........
I am the chief of Canine procurement and development at my work place!!!!

[MikeSid]

There is an element of distilling the body of knowledge. Otherwise, you'd just be an encyclopedia of facts.

So, you aren't an expert if you can't effectively explain to just about anyone the subject of your expertise. I don't care how complicated it is, if you can't explain it to the man on the street, that's not his problem. You should be able to break it down to anyone.

[GWN7]

Without education and experience you are not much of a expert. You can be a master of a subject without education though. An example of this would be a master woodcarver. No education but lots of experience.

The other way is like a guy at work who took the EMT 200 program and then a week later he took a 6 hr Saturday Instructor course. He was then (in his mind) more qualified than someone who had been doing the job for two years even though he had never been on a medical call. Education but no experience.

[VincentVega]

My girlfriend says I know everything about everything, does that make me an expert at everything?

A guy at work knows just about everything about routing, switching, security, dns.... he's an expert in my book. Breadth of knowledge is impressive, most anyone can master a 1 thing.

[kanadary]

I am an expert at r&ring the alternator from the housing. Having done this four times in the last 6 months. Now down to 15 minutes tops

[john70t]

Doing anything for money creates a professional.

"Madam, Sirs. Please stand back. I am a professional."

[syncroid]

I know someone whom is a legend in their own mind.

[GH85Carrera]

If you carry a briefcase and come from more than 50 miles away. Or a ex drip under pressure. (ex-spurt)

[Cajundaddy]

One thing about the Porsche community is that you tend to find a lot of experts. One of my friends is a worldwide expert in Planetary Astrophysics and the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, another is the current leading expert in rocket propulsion systems. Another is an expert photographer who's work has been seen on high traffic billboards and fashion magazines for decades.

As for me well, my wife says I am a recognized expert in useless information... and one or two other things.

[Zeke]

An expert in the trades is known as a master craftsman. There are few left.

[pavulon]

This paper suggested that the path to becoming an expert involves "seeking and responding to negative feedback." "Positive feedback increased novices' commitment." I thought it was insightful.

[Rob Channell]

An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less.

Off hand I would say 10000 hours would be a good start.