Guru status?

[PatrickIRL]

This has been on my mind for a while and I thought I'd put it out there and see what reaction I get.
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My question is; "At what point in your career are you considered a guru?"
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I realise that it would be incredibly presumptious to call oneself a guru and I'm not claiming that I am.
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Is it defined as all-knowing with a vast array of knowledge covering many languages, many system, etc?
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Can it be defined as extensive knowledge in a single area rather than all-encompasing??
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Is it defined as someone who everybody runs to when something goes wrong?
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Just curious, what are your thoughts ???????

Patrick

 

[chiph]

A guru title is never self-applied. You achieve it when others use it about you.

Chip H.


____________________________________________________________________
If you want to get the best response to a question, please read FAQ222-2244 first

 

[sha76]

I'd say it depends on what you're doing & the ability of those around you to do the same. I've never been called a guru, but was called 'automation queen' in my last job! Now I know a lot more and am better equipped to find out the things I don't know, but that's just what's expected of me.

"Your rock is eroding wrong." -Dogbert

 

[buddafish]

Right-on Chip H ~

"Always be a beginner"
d.t.suzuki (or was it watts or dass..)

scottie

 

[JSutor]

I think Chip H and sha76 combined have the right answer, it is not self-applied, but it also depends on the ability of others to replicate what your doing. Users may call you a guru when you plug a cable back in and the computer starts working. But to get that complement from a co-worker in your field would then truly define you as a "guru".

 

[somebodyelse1]

I really hate the work 'guru' anyway. It's a term I see banded about too often, especially by those overpaid chimps in recruitment consultancies.

 

[fredericofonseca]

But the recruitment consultancies have not gurus at all except maybe in sales!! And event there not many.

You will hardly find a guru through a recruitment agency, as they don't normally need them.



Regards

Frederico Fonseca
SysSoft Integrated Ltd

http://www.syssoft-int.com

 

[ecobb]

I think what somebodyelse1 is referring to is that recruitment agency always seem have everything listed as "programming Guru needed" or "Only Database Gurus need apply".



Hope This Helps!

Ecobb
Beer Consumption Analyst

"My work is a game, a very serious game." - M.C. Escher

 

[DoubleD]

Guru: A recognized leader in a field (

http://www.dictionary.com)

Per the definition, you are not a guru until other individuals in your specific field are willing to name you as such.

I am what I am based on the decisions I have made.

DoubleD

 

[spamly]

When I was in the military with about 6 months of experience, I managed to drop a whole network of servers by creating the UNIX group "unixgurus" and adding myself to it. Needless to say, the experience was humbling.

Now if somebody asks me if I'm the local guru, I just groan a little.

 

[pduda]

Personally, I hate the term guru.
I find it is often used by someone else when passing the proverbial buck. For example, someone comes along looking for help with something and though any of us are able to answer it, the boss refers to one of us as the "guru" of that topic and we are so labled for the rest of our lives...

PD
Jack of a few trades, guru of none!

 

[GoddessOfTech]

Two terms I continue to detest more and more..."guru" and "wiz".

These terms seem to be used by people when referring to a person who they think knows more about a subject than themselves and often erroneously. Nevermind the true definition and that technically (in my head) to be referred to as a guru should come from a peer, not a user or other person not inclined in your profession.

I do several seminars and make several appearances per year locally to educate the general public about things such as identity theft, keeping their personal information safer on their computer...etc... Several times I have been referred to as a "wiz" or a "guru" by people who are admitted "computer illiterates".

I think it is silly and I also do not want to be lumped into the same group the general public puts a 14 year old that can write passable php into simply because he can and they cannot.

Oftentimes I have told people, "I am not a "wiz"...a wiz is something you do in the bathroom."

It ticks me off...how these two words are used.

=================================
"It's become appallingly clear that our technology has surpassed our humanity." --Albert Einstein

 

[iknowitall]

Ever think of using Merriam-Webster for the real definition of a guru?

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=guru

 

[Dollie]

There's always the Urban Dictionary....

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=guru&r=f

 

[Pennanti]

I have been called a guru for solving problems that a very non-technical person was totally stumped by and quite stressed about. I think your status as a guru is in the eyes of the beholder, if they think you are worthy of the title so be it, just remember never to let such things go to your head or you are setting yourself up for a huge serving of humble pie.

 

[Terpsfan]

Guru actually is a Hindi root word that basically means enlighted teacher, more specifically a religious teacher.

I like how a local liberal arts college approaches things. Professors aren't called professors, they are referred to as only the most advanced student in the class. I think that view helps to eradicate some of this ivory tower mentality.

Computers are an absolute mystery to most of the population. This is why labels of expert, guru, whiz, etc get applied.

 

[11011110000]

Professors aren't called professors, they are referred to as only the most advanced student in the class. I think that view helps to eradicate some of this ivory tower mentality.

Is this from the same cloth as the SEE (Success Equals Effort) program? In the SEE program a students can still pass a class even if they don't get any of the work correct; as long as they 'try,' the effort part. Of course, as the student becomes an upperclassman the ratio is inverted, but as long as they give an effort they are still getting credit.

Having an education degree myself, this educational practice is (well for lack of any better word) stupid and harmful to students.

 

[SQLSister]

I personally wouldn't work for a university that didn;t consider me to be a professor. This is person in charge of the class and in charge of designing the course curriculum. He or she is not the most advanced student in the group. The professor is the expert on the subject.

11011110000, I think your words on the SEE teaching methodology are way too uderstated. I would add irresponsible child abuse to that list as well as some other words that this site probably would reject if I tried to use them! Low expectations are one of the biggest causes of low accomplishment. No wonder our educational system is broken if schools actually do this.

Questions about posting. See faq183-874

 

[Terpsfan]

Actually the name of the college is St. John's College in Maryland. The college is given a 5 star academic rating out of 5. The percentage of students getting into medical, law school etc is one of the highest in the nation.

So the system they espouse works.

 

[11011110000]

I went to St. John's College in Maryland (not to be confused with the renowned St. John's University) at

http://www.sjca.edu

.

This is a four-year liberal arts college with a non-traditional curriculum.

U.S. News "America's Best Colleges" survey ranks them as:
Liberal Arts Colleges, third tier.

Also, the school refused to fill out U.S. News' survey. (not a gleaming endorsement really, since schools place a great emphasis on the rankings). Though here is a link for the schools explanation for refusing to do the survey:

http://www.collegenews.org/x1269.xml

The professors are not called "advanced students" but are "tutors." This is the quote from their web site.

The Faculty
At St. John's, the teaching members of the faculty are called tutors. The title "professor" is avoided to signify that it is not the chief role of the tutors to lecture in their fields of expertise but to guide the students through the program of study. Learning is cooperative rather than competitive, and it takes place in small discussion groups of mutually helpful members. Tutors, while specialists in various fields, are expected to participate in all parts of the curriculum; consequently, they exemplify and strengthen the program's integrated nature.