ok so ive been licensed about 8 months now and i keep hearing people talk about chasing DXCC, working all states, WAZ and i honestly have no idea how any of it fits together or even where to start. like are these all separate things you track separately? do you have to pay for all of them? i worked a station in Japan last week and got super excited but i dont even know if i logged it right or what i need to do to actually get credit for it toward anything.

also someone mentioned LoTW and QSL cards and i got even more confused. do you need both? my elmer kind of glossed over this part and i feel like im missing something obvious that everyone else just knows. sorry if this is a dumb question

Not a dumb question at all, honestly this stuff confused me for the first year or two as well. So the short version is they're all separate awards run by different organizations and you track them separately, though the contacts can overlap — meaning one QSO with Japan could count toward DXCC, WAZ, and WAS doesn't really apply there since that's just the 50 US states but you get the idea.

DXCC is the big one most people chase first, that's 100 confirmed countries basically (they call them entities which is a whole other rabbit hole). WAZ is Worked All Zones, there are 40 CQ zones around the world and you need one contact confirmed from each. WAS is just the 50 states, which sounds easy but Alaska and Hawaii will chase you in your sleep.

For confirmation LoTW is by far the easiest path now, a lot of DX stations upload there and when both sides confirm the QSO it counts. Paper QSL cards still work and some awards actually require them for certain band endorsements or rare entities, but for getting started just get on LoTW and make sure the stations you're working are uploading there too. Your Japan contact is almost certainly a valid DXCC entity so log it carefully and check if they're on LoTW.

yeah what he said, and one thing i'd add — dont stress too much about having a perfect system before you start. i just kept a spreadsheet for like the first six months and retroactively figured out what counted for what later. the ARRL has a thing called their online log checking tool and you can also just upload to LoTW and it'll tell you what you have confirmed once you get set up. setup is a little annoying but worth it

the fees are pretty reasonable too, DXCC application is like 12 bucks i think for the first certificate and then endorsements are cheaper. WAZ you apply through CQ magazine. they're all worth doing if you enjoy the chase, makes every contact feel like it actually means something you know