I too have sat in the right hand seat for many a year, glanced across at the LHS to see either nobody there or a young fella me lad who wanted my job
I operated in extreme weathers, in and out of tight sites etc...
Then, after many, many years of beating the air into submission I fancied the easy life that is piloting an airliner around. Rocket science it aint.
So now I find myself, in the words of the Toxic Rainboe, having no experience, nothing to add to the conversation and no skills to bring to the party. Ummm maybe not. I realise that he/she in the LHS that carries the can and signs on the dotted line but as long as my ass is in that aeroplane I will make sure that my views and my experience are taken into account. I do that with humour, forethought, suggestion and assertiveness when required.
Not all co-pilots are 21 and some have a whole lot more command hours than the guy/gal in the other seat, alot of the time in aircraft operated within far more extreme environments. Life circumstances and the need for a change of scene puts many people there. I like it and I get on well with just about everybody I fly with.
Always keep an open mind, the cross cockpit gradient has been known to go the other way before.
W2P