I'm getting really mixed signals here.
Being a fresh FO with next to no hours in the book, 15 hours on type and really keen, I've got no clue to unwritten do's and don'ts.
Some of you say that as a FO you should just sit in the RHS and shut up, as beamer so nicely put "arrogant little upstarts with damn all experience who swan around with hands in their pockets". How an earth do you think this makes a new FO feel that might be a bit insecure as he has just taken perhaps the biggest step in his professional life?! I've got no idea, perhaps I come across as an ignorrant little upstart if I for some reason have my sunglasses on my head and ask out of interest, what the captain is doing? I try not to act an "ignorrant upstart" but who am I to say how people percieve me? What's more frightening is how fast someone can judge another person. What does the captain know about me and what I'm capable of just because of perhaps a bad first impression? This attitude is what scares me the most about my new job. I cincerely hope I'll never have to fly with someone displaying this horrible attitude.
On the other hand, some say that we should be proactive and work ahead.
If this annoys a captain, having a keen young chap that sees to it that stuff gets done and away with, Who's doing it wrong? I'll just stop there...
It's a difficult topic this. Thank god I've only had good line training captains so far that follow the policy of splitting sectors 50/50 whenever possible and that don't take offence when I query them as to why they are doing what they are doing. I'll keep on like that methinks.
EDIT: about how to ask which sectors you are to fly, the suggested: "which sectors do you want me to fly" is just as bad as "which sector do you want to fly", if thing are as you say. This implies that the captain has ACTUALLY thought of giving you a couple of sectors or so.
/LnS