Expertise and Professionalism

Alina Dizik suggests that young people should focus on developing skills, not credentials for a profession . One roadblock Dizik mentions is that many individuals develop their identity from profession, and would not be comfortable expanding their work outside the bounds of the narrow confines of the "profession" concept.

My take is that if a person needs ten thousand hours to gain expertise, then there is still a need for professions with a narrow, defined range of paractice. I would want a brain surgeon to have participated in hundreds of surgeries before working on my head.

-DD