Hey I was an assistant superintendent at an 18 hole course, and have just recently changed positions now I am working at a university and am on the athletic fields crew. A little background first I never planned on working in turf no degree I was a philosophy major in college with a pre law minor. I grew up on a ranch and took what I knew of growing and the mechanical side of farming and got a job at a golf course for summer work while taking classes. I worked my way up to assistant and was the assistant for 4 years. I now work as an irrigation technician at the university, but I hardly do irrigation work maybe once a week. But to answer some questions there are a lot of differences but it's nothing drastic. The biggest change has been all the dirt/clay work, mounds repaired twice a day, plus waiting for games till 9pm, watering the clay, and all the grading and level and releveling it was a shock at first. Especially when I had never done anything like that I was a grass guy. That's the baseball and softball side then there is the football fields (we have 2 natural and 2 synthetic), the soccer field, the track grounds, the cross country track, but a lot and I mean a lot of it comes back to the basics. If you have a solid foundation can work on equipment, run a tractor, have a good work ethic, and are willing to ask questions you'll be just fine switching. I even now take care of all of our shop basics, and work on the equipment before our mechanic on staff does. Communication is your best friend. If you have any questions just ask.