ok so ive been interested in ham radio for a while now, my neighbor has a big antenna setup and it got me curious. i looked it up and apparently you have to take a test? i dont really know what the difference is between the different license levels or which one i should go for first. also how hard is the test, i wasnt great at science in school but im willing to study. is there like a specific book i should get or do people just use websites these days. any help appreciated, sorry if this is a dumb question

not a dumb question at all, everyone starts somewhere. so the first one you want is the Technician license, thats the entry level and it gets you access to VHF/UHF stuff which is plenty to get started with. the test is 35 questions and you need to get 26 right, its multiple choice and honestly not that bad if you put in a week or two of studying.

for study resources most people these days use HamStudy.org or the HamTestOnline site, i personally liked HamStudy because it tracks which questions youre getting wrong and drills you on those. theres also a book by Gordon West that some people swear by but i never used it myself. the question pool is public so technically you could just memorize all the answers but actually understanding the material helps when you get on the air and dont want to feel completely lost.

find a local club too, they usually run license classes and the VEs (the volunteer examiners who give the test) are almost always club members. ARRL website has a club finder if you dont know where to look. good luck

i just did this like four months ago so i can tell you what worked for me at least. i used the hamstudy app on my phone and just did like 20-30 practice questions whenever i had a few minutes, on my lunch break or whatever. took me maybe 3 weeks and i passed with only like 3 wrong. the electrical theory questions tripped me up at first but once you see them enough times you start to remember the patterns even if the math doesnt fully click.

one thing i wish someone told me is that the General upgrade isnt that much harder and a lot of people do both back to back while theyre already in study mode. i didnt do that and now im kicking myself a little because id have to go back and study all over again. just something to think about