Expertise

I think a sign of expertise in a field or job is when you reach the point where you are no longer concerned with the "what if" situations. You trust your own abilities in the position to the point where you know that you know how to approach any problem presented, even if it is a new problem.

I think of my job as a House Manager at Cal Performances. There are hundreds of things that could go wrong during a show. However, I don't spend my off-time thinking about how to respond to all the hypotheticals. Rather, I know that I am skilled at my job, and I will be able to think on my feet to solve any problem.

Conversely, consider my position as a student. I am far from an expert in my field. And I also find myself constantly considering the "what if"s of problems that could be asked of me in classes (I discussed this a bit in a previous post). I think that these phenomena are highly correlated. I am not confident enough in my academic field to adequately approach any problem handed to me; as a result, I worry about the "what if"s. I worry about a problem that I don't think I will be able to solve; whereas in my Cal Performances job, I don't worry, because I know I will be able to confront any problem I am presented.