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I would like to create a list of terms, from beginner to expert, using as many terms as possible which represent different levels of expertise.

I have constructed by myself:

  • Newbie
  • Novice
  • Rookie
  • Beginner
  • Talented
  • Skilled
  • Intermediate
  • Skillful
  • Seasoned
  • Proficient
  • Experienced
  • Advanced
  • Senior
  • Expert

What do you think is the best list?

Thanks!

GrayedFox
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Paul
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    Experience does in no way allow a deduction about expertise... Neither does talent. – I'm with Monica Sep 26 '12 at 07:45
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    Reusing the same word in a different form, especially for words that have multiple types depending on context, makes the progression much harder to follow; i.e. Skilled (as in the adjective or a verb in the past tense?) followed by Skillful makes the progression foggier. Try to stick to words whereby the context of the list makes it immediately clear that the word is an adjective (i.e. Intermediate, would not, in this list, be easily mistaken for one of many intermediates). – GrayedFox Aug 13 '18 at 13:37
  • And, on a purely subjective note: Skilled and Talented are both terms that I would consider as "above" Intermediate - unless you really do mean to use it as a synonym for halfway or in-between (in which case, you should place it precisely in the middle of your list, which requires a list whose total is odd) - which I hope you don't! – GrayedFox Aug 13 '18 at 14:00
  • @GrayedFox - Why have you edited a question that has been closed for 6 years, bumping it to the front page? – AndyT Aug 13 '18 at 15:05
  • I wasn't aware it would do that :S - but I thought the question was interesting and I guess I'm slightly OCD about badly formatted questions. Is it bad practise to edit old questions even if they can be clarified? Perhaps the clarifying of the question also addresses the problem, i.e. that it's not constructive? Perhaps we could re-word the final part to be "do you know of or have any ready made lists that serve this function?" instead of "what's the best list?" – GrayedFox Aug 14 '18 at 09:24
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    It looks more like you are trying to list the proficiency levels, can they be like below - Novice (unskilled, not knowing, new to)
    • Beginner (Learning)
    • Competent (knows adequately, qualified)
    • Proficient (practiced, skillful)
    • Expert (well practiced, having versatile knowledge)
     – bas Nov 15 '18 at 06:01
  • I'm interested in "beginner" vs "novice" I think either they are synonyms or a novice is slightly more advanced than a beginner. – Martin F Sep 11 '19 at 03:56
  • "Novice" generally means zero prior experience, and so should be the first on the list. - - “Rookie" is someone who has been selected because of their or experience, or expertise, but has an unknown level of skilfulness to the outside observers. “Rookie" is more expert than beginner (except in the case of the pejorative use) because it means, by definition, more proficient than a beginner. - - “Talent(ed)" does not map to expertise, it indicates an ability to experience ratio, as in “talented novice,” and “talentless expert.” I think seasoned is more expert than proficient. – timeSmith Dec 17 '20 at 11:26
  • If skilled, skillful, or experienced are on the list at all they should all be identically just above Intermediate. I would argue that they should not be on the list for practical application. This is the list of level of skill, so unskilled and inexperienced would mean anything below intermediate and skillful, skilled, experienced, and even highly-skilled would mean any level above intermediate. – timeSmith Dec 17 '20 at 11:29
  • “Champion,” and then “Master” could be added after “expert.” – timeSmith Dec 17 '20 at 11:29
  • The modified list: Novice, Newbie, Beginner, Rookie, Intermediate, Proficient, Seasoned, Advanced, Senior, Expert, Champion, Master. (I’m not sure the placement or existence of “Senior” on this list. And "Champion" may only make sense in a competitive context.) – timeSmith Dec 17 '20 at 11:33

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