The Rookie

In short

Rookies are new to working with AI. You haven't really started yet, or you've only used it for simple things like looking something up. The name is about AI only. It says nothing about how good you are at your job, and your work experience counts from day one.

Rookies take a shorter test. It asks how you work now, with no questions about AI tools. So a Rookie gets two scores: work foundation, and how sure they feel about trying AI.

What you already bring

• You know your work. You can tell a good result from a poor one. AI can't do that for you.
• You have no bad AI habits to unlearn. You can build the right ones from the first day.
• You can learn both sides together, the tools and the checking. That's the best way to learn them.
• You've taken the first step. You now know where you stand.

What to watch for

The longer you wait, the bigger the first step feels. Many people at this stage keep meaning to start and never find the right moment.

When you do start, AI can be easy to believe. It writes well even when it is wrong, so the checking you already do on your own work has to cover AI's work too.

You in a team

You bring fresh eyes, and good questions help a team more than people expect.

You learn fastest next to someone who already uses AI well. Watch how they ask it, and how they check what it gives back.

How to get started

Start small, on ground you know.

• This week, ask AI how to do one task you already know well. Then check its answer against what you know.
• Stay with one kind of task for a week or two before you add another.
• Before you use any AI answer, check one fact in it against where it came from.
• Ask a colleague to show you one way they use AI.