for those who have experience i need answers.
i have some experience using Maya, but not 3dMax, is using 3dMax easy to pick up with Maya skills or is it completely new and foreign?
The basics of poly modeling is the same everywhere. Pulling and pushing vertices, edges and faces. And UVs of course.
So once you know this, all you have to do is go to a new software and figure out how to do the basic things like extrude, merge, cut etc like you do on your familiar software.
There will be differences. You will likely rage at some ways the software does things differently, and be amazed how it does some more efficiently. Part and parcel.
But in the end, like I say, the principle of poly modeling will always stay the same.