Accepting that I'm qualified to do things

An interesting thing happened last week. Through a very long email forwarding chain, it came to my attention that one of the small, religiously affiliated schools in the area (actually half way between the university and my new city) was looking for an adjunct physics professor to teach an algebra-based physics 2 course during the spring semester. I jumped on the chance, after getting my adviser's blessing, because it's a chance to hone my teaching skills, it would look good on a resume, it's a foot in the door, a little more money coming in, etc. 

But I considered it to be a long shot. It required a master's degree, preferably a PhD, and while I could have my masters by now, I've never bothered with the paperwork and paying for it, so officially I have a bachelor of science and 3 years of grad school. I emailed the contact on the listing indicating my intention of applying. After writing up my CV (I had resumes but no CVs on tap), filling out the application and a phone interview, I have the job, pending the ok from HR. Turns out, I'm the only applicant and they need someone NOW because the person they hired for the entire year bailed after the fall semester. 

So as I'm talking about it with people, I've been say that I got the job because I was the only applicant. That, essentially, I got lucky.

Which is interesting because my husband and I were just reading an article in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday about how women communicate differently in the workplace, and will frequently say that they "got lucky" instead of taking credit for something. Females are socially trained to be self-deprecating, men are trained to brag, was what that part of the article boiled down to. 

As I was walking back from submitting my transcript request, and thinking to myself how I only got the job because they were desperate and I was the only choice, it suddenly hit me that I was doing the self-deprecating thing.

 I am perfectly qualified to do the job as advertised. I love teaching. I prepare before classes, I know what I'm teaching and I'm not afraid to say "I don't know, I'll get back to you" when a question comes up that I hadn't prepared for. I've taught college classes for 3 years, I done lab work and prep work and grading. There's nothing I'm going to learn in my last year or two of research that will help me teach basic physics to non-physics/engineering majors. The only thing my students and my supervisors agree on is that I'm a good teacher.  

When I texted a friend who had helped me with my CV that I had got the job and thanking him for his help, he texted back "Congrats! I doubt I had anything to do with it! You totally deserve the job."

So I'm going to stop saying that I only got the job because I was the only candidate. There is every chance I would have gotten the job if I had had competition. I am a dedicated, knowledgeable, and tested teacher. And I'm going to prove it.