List of Expertise Levels From Beginner to Expert

For our own convenience, many things in life are organized into expertise levels. These levels range from being accessible to beginners, to only being possible for experts. This article will give a detailed overview of what the main levels of expertise are. This overview will include definitions and examples.

The main levels of expertise are “beginner”, “talented”, “skilled”, “intermediate”, “skillful”, “seasoned”, “proficient”, “advanced” and “expert”. All of these levels give you a good range of difficulty. You can use these levels to categorize whatever you need into comprehensible and distinct segments. You should keep this list in mind.

1. Beginner

“Beginner” is the term you should use as the baseline of difficulty. When someone is at the “beginner” level, they are only starting out. That means that they have the most basic amount of expertise that one could have. This is the level you have when you don’t know anything.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “beginner” as “a person who is starting to do something or learn something for the first time”. It’s easy to see, then, why this is our baseline level of expertise.

Here are some examples that showcase the proper use of “beginner”:

• I’m only a beginner in jogging but I’m excited to continue to learn and grow
• She’s just a beginner but she’s doing incredible numbers nonetheless

2. Talented

“Talented” is the term that comes after “beginner”, when you’ve attained basic skills in something. If you’re no longer at a beginner level, that means that you are above everyone else who doesn’t know that skill. Therefore, that makes you “talented”. That’s why this is the second level.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “talented” as “with talent; able or skilful”. It is the “able” part in which we’ll focus on. When you have enough basic skills, you can be described as “able” in something.

These examples will teach you the meaning of “talented” without issues:

• You’re a pretty talented person, I think you’ll grow a lot in this organization.
• He’s incredibly talented and I think we need to have him participate in our team.

3. Skilled

“Skilled” is our third level of difficulty. It’s when you’ve grown enough to have progressed from mere basic skills. Those skills that were once basic are now fairly developed. At this point you can continue to comfortably grow your skill, knowing you have the basics completely mastered.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “skilled” as “having the abilities needed to do an activity or job well”. And that’s exactly it: When you’re at this level, you can do the job well.

Here are some examples to showcase how you can use this term:

• He’s fairly skilled, I don’t see any reason to doubt his skills at all.
• I think that you’re a very skilled person, but you can still continue to grow.

4. Intermediate

“Intermediate” is our fourth level of difficulty. It signals the fact that you’ve fully outclassed the basics, but aren’t a complete expert. Therefore, you’re in a middle ground of skills. This is why it’s called “intermediate”. It’s because it’s the middle ground between the basic and the advanced.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “intermediate” as “being between two other related things, levels, or points”. Therefore, you can see how the “intermediate” level is defined by literally being in the middle.

These example sentences will showcase how to use “intermediate” without any issues:

• I’d say that you’re at an intermediate level right now, but don’t get too cocky, kid.
• I want to grow into at the very least an intermediate level before I take that test.

5. Skillful

“Skillful” is the fifth level of difficulty. It’s a term that represents how you’ve attained an immense amount of different skills. All of these skills are fairly developed. The term is good because it’s a good signifier that you’re undoubtedly good at the particular skill.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “skillful” as “good at doing something, especially because you have practiced doing it”. You can see how your many different skills have made you into a skillful person at this point.

Here are some examples to demonstrate the proper use of “skillful”:

• She’s a skillful worker, and I think that her work honestly speaks for itself.
• I consider myself a skillful guy, and if you hire me for this job, I’ll prove it to you.

6. Seasoned

“Seasoned” is the sixth level of expertise. When you’re “seasoned”, you have a lot of experience under your belt. This experience ensures that you’re able to handle situations with confidence and expertise. When you’re seasoned, there is no doubt that you definitely know what you’re doing.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “seasoned” as “having a lot of experience of doing something and therefore knowing how to do it well”. You can see how the fact that you have experience is key here.

These examples will continue to show you how to use the term “seasoned”:

• He’s a seasoned worker, has been with us since 2008 and has worked in several departments.
• You’ve grown to become a fairly seasoned man, and I think it’s time we promoted you.

7. Proficient

“Proficient” is the seventh level of expertise. It refers to someone who combines great skills with lots of experience. When someone is proficient, you can rest assured. They will surely get the job done without any issues. It’s a level of expertise that implies immense abilities in the task.

The Cambridge Dictionary simply defines “proficient” as “skilled and experienced”. This emphasizes the fact that “proficiency” is a combination of skills and experience. They create someone who has a lot of authority on the subject.

These are some examples that will show you how you can use “proficient”:

• He’s completely proficient in this programming language, I think we should call him.
• She’s actually become really proficient in accounting over the last year.

8. Advanced

“Advanced” is the eighth level of expertise. It represents someone who has very few little things left to learn in the specific field. When someone is in the “advanced” expertise level, their voice should be listened to on the specific subject. They are undoubtedly incredibly capable.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “advanced” as “at a higher, more difficult level”. Indeed, people at the “advanced” level can tackle issues that people at lower levels simply cannot.

Here are a few examples that will showcase how to use “advanced” in a sentence:

• She’s undoubtedly in the advanced level, so I think she’ll solve our problem.
• I think I can reach the advanced level before the year ends if I work hard enough.

9. Expert

“Expert” is the ninth and final level of expertise. When someone is in the “expert” category, they don’t have anything left to learn. Rather, people who are “experts” simply exercise their skills, and teach them to other people. This is because they have learnt basically everything that they can.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “expert” as “a person with a high level of knowledge or skill relating to a particular subject or activity”. These are people that you can rely on in an emergency.

Here’s some examples to teach you how to use “expert” in your own sentences:

• He’s an expert, no one in the southern hemisphere knows more about programming.
• You’re a real expert in film theory, even if you don’t think that you are.