When does someone become an “expert”? For the non-academic intellectual this can be a troublesome question, because vagueness that suffuses the word “expert” also renders it versatile. By itself, the word means next to nothing; you don’t go to school and get an “expert’s degree”. People can claim to be experts, as we saw after 9/11 when the airwaves were suddenly inundated with so-called “terrorism experts” who perhaps had been in the military or law enforcement, read a couple of books, and decided they knew more than the average cable news viewer about the subject. The fact that this was so, however, didn’t (and still doesn’t) mean that these newest members of the pundit class had anything useful to say about their area of “expertise”.

Establishing expertise as a Guerrilla Scholar means you probably don’t have the backing of a sheepskin from some university or college you can hang on the wall like some phylactery against not being taken seriously. By the same token, there are also a lot of independent intellectuals out there who are just starting out and who might be tempted to resort “embellishments” such as one might use on a resume to get a job. It’s not an easy path to walk, agreed. But in order to gain access to more serious players in your chosen area of study, you must establish yourself. How do you do it?

The easiest way is by establishing a body of work. Your reputation with others will help some, but it’s best if you have something you can point to that can stand on its own. I remember a short article on this subject in Whole Earth Review that gives a short, easy-to-implement process to gain and show expertise without the use of a subject-specific degree. Here’s how it works:

Make a list of five things that, if you did them, would demonstrate that you have expertise in a given field. Then for each of those five things, write a set of sub-steps necessary to accomplish them. You now have a rough-and-ready study plan. Next, make a list of all the resources you need to accomplish your plan. Include friends, associates, and others who live in your area or with whom you are in contact as well as institutions such as libraries, museums, local colleges, etc. Try to make your tasks something that will result in a record. For instance, suppose your interest is in ornithology. Your list might look like this:

1. Join the Audubon Society and participate in their annual Christmas Bird Count, including the tabulation and processing of the data afterwards.

2. Volunteer as a docent at a local city or state recreation area or natural history museum, undergoing the training needed to qualify as a docent. This leaves a record.

3. Keep a regular notebook of regular bird watching field trips, and use the Grinnell Method or some other format commonly used by professional naturalists.

4. Work with a professional ornithologist on a project where he or she needs help collecting or organizing. Ask the person you’re working with if they will write you a letter of introduction or recommendation when you finish so you can document your work. If the project is a paper, you might get an acknowledgement or in some cases be listed as a co-author.

5. Take courses in ornithology, wildlife studies, or biology at a nearby community college or over the Internet. Completed coursework is the next best thing to a degree.

You now have a track record. You are showing that you have interest, drive, and have a knack for getting things done. This chronicle will go some distance toward establishing yourself as someone who has more than a passing interest in your subject. And when you finish your five items, you will probably find that you have accomplished more than what you anticipated; these kinds of efforts tend to build on themselves and lead you to opportunities you never imagined.