ok so ive been interested in ham radio for a while now, like probably a year or two of just watching youtube videos and reading stuff online but never actually committing to anything. my neighbor is licensed and he keeps telling me to just do it already and honestly he's right but i dont even know where to start with the studying part.

like i know theres different license classes and you have to take a test but thats about it. do you have to know morse code still? i heard that got dropped but wasnt sure. also is the test hard? i work full time so i dont have as much time to study as i'd like but i can probably squeeze in maybe 30-45 minutes a night. someone mentioned ham study dot com or something like that but i dont know if thats the best resource or if there's something better. just kinda lost and looking for a pointer in the right direction i guess

no morse code required anymore, that got dropped back in 2007 so you're good there. for the technician exam which is where everyone starts, honestly hamstudy.org is exactly what most people use and it works really well. the question pool is public so every single question on your actual test comes from that pool, no surprises. just grind through the practice exams until youre consistently hitting like 85% or better and you'll be fine on test day.

30-45 mins a night is more than enough, i'd say most people are ready in 2-3 weeks doing that. theres also the ARRL technician manual if you want to actually understand the material rather than just memorize answers, which i'd recommend at least skimming because it helps stuff stick. find a local club too, they usually run license exam sessions pretty regularly and sometimes the club will have a license class you can sit in on. good luck, it's really not as intimidating as it seems

i literally just passed my tech exam like 6 weeks ago so i can tell you from fresh experience lol. hamstudy was basically all i used, did it on my phone during lunch breaks mostly. the actual test felt easier than the practice tests which surprised me. just dont stress it too much, the questions arent trying to trick you or anything. my test session was run by a local club and everyone was super friendly about the whole thing