so ive been licensed about 8 months now (general class) and everyone keeps telling me i need to try a contest to really get comfortable operating. i keep hearing about CQ WW and ARRL Field Day and honestly i dont even know what the difference is between them or which one would be better for a first timer.

from what i can tell Field Day is more of a club thing? like you go set up somewhere and operate with other people? and CQ WW is more of a solo thing where you're trying to work as many DX stations as possible. is that roughly right or am i way off. also i saw something about SOTA activations counting toward some contests which i didnt even know was a thing.

anyway im not trying to win anything obviously just want to get some experience and maybe grab a few new entities for my log. any advice on which to try first or how to not completely embarrass myself on the air would be appreciated

you've basically got it right. Field Day is June and it's very much a group activity, most clubs set up somewhere portable and operate for 24 hours, it's pretty relaxed and a great way to learn because there's usually somebody next to you who can answer questions. honestly for a brand new operator it's probably the better starting point just because you're not alone.

CQ WW is October and November (phone and CW separately) and yeah that's more of a serious DX contest, huge pileups, stations running hundreds of watts into big antennas, can be a little intimidating when you first hear it. that said you can absolutely participate as a search and parter and just work whoever you find, nobody cares if you're not running high power or a fancy station. just call, give your exchange, log it and move on.

the SOTA thing you mentioned — SOTA activators can get bonus points in some contests if theyre operating from a summit, but SOTA itself isnt really a contest per se, more of an operating award program. some contests like the ARRL 10 meter contest have provisions for portable ops but it varies. worth looking into if you like hiking though, its a lot of fun.

my honest advice, find your local club and do Field Day with them first, then try CQ WW SSB in October just to see what the chaos feels like from your home station

dont overthink it, seriously just get on during CQ WW and start calling. worst that happens is someone doesnt hear you or asks for a repeat on your zone number. everyone was new once. i did my first contest from a dipole in an apartment and still managed to work like 40 countries so the bar isnt as high as it seems