Concept in Definition ABC

A person is considered a veteran when he has been doing an activity for a long time. In this way, veteran and novice are opposite terms, since the novice has been in something for a short time (for example, in a profession) and the veteran already has a long experience. This analysis of the term also focuses on the image of the war veteran. In the language popularly, it is said that seniority is a degree, which implies that someone has great experience and qualifications in an activity.

From novice to veteran in the professional field

When someone starts working he lacks experience and therefore does not know the ins and outs of an activity. With the passage of time, the novice acquires new skills and little by little he becomes familiar with the processes of his activity.

For centuries the novice was popularly known as an apprentice. The apprentice started in a job from below, that is, first performing very simple tasks and over time he could become an officer and perform more complex tasks. The officer degree implied a certain mastery and, consequently, the status of master was attained (a master craftsman in a

discipline he had reached the maximum knowledge and could teach others).

Obviously, the teacher was a veteran, as he knew his trade in depth. This terminology was consolidated in the Middle Ages from the expansion of the cities but these words are currently falling into disuse.

When seniority starts to be a problem

Having been doing a job for many years is, in principle, an advantage. However, seniority is associated with age and in some cases people of a certain age lose their faculties and are no longer as effective professionally. Let's illustrate this idea with a soccer simile, a 38-year-old soccer forward. This hypothetical forward has a lot of experience, but it is foreseeable that his club will have doubts about his continuity in the team.

The figure of the war veteran

A veteran is not just someone with accredited experience, since the word veteran has a second meaning. Specifically, it is used to refer to the person already retired from an activity, as happens in the military field with war veterans. In this way, a veteran footballer is a professional who still plays soccer, while a war veteran or ex-combatant is no longer in the military.

The figure of war veterans in the cinema

The figure of the ex-combatant has been treated in fiction, especially in the movie theater. Typically this is a character singular. The prototype of the war veteran is someone marked by the disasters of war and someone who does not adapt easily to life civil. The war veteran finds himself in "no man's land", he is no longer a military man but he does not see himself as a civilian either.

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