i always would tell new hires that even though i had a ton of experience in my profession, i thought there was a steep learning curve at my current place of employment. then i thought about that and it seems incorrect to phrase it like that. that means you learn a lot over a short period of time. a flat learning curve means expertise is acquired over a longer period of time, which is what i'm guessing people mean when they say learning this craft has a steep learning curve. otherwise there wouldn't be so much to talk about here. we'd all get our gear and away we'd go.