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 process is like or how hard the test is. is there like a specific book i should get or do most people just use websites. also how long does it realistically take to study before you feel ready, i work full time so i probably cant dedicate huge amounts of time to it every day. any advice would be appreciated, i feel like im missing some obvious starting point that everyone else already knows about

honestly the technician test isnt that bad, i was pretty nervous going into mine but ended up passing first try. most people i know used HamStudy dot org which is free and has a practice test mode that drills you on the actual question pool. the real test is pulled straight from that pool so if you can consistently pass the practice tests you should be fine on the real thing. i think i studied maybe two or three weeks doing like 20-30 minutes a night, nothing crazy. the hardest parts for me were the electrical theory questions, stuff about ohms law and calculating things, but honestly even if you dont fully understand it you can kind of memorize the patterns after enough repetitions. the ARRL Technician manual is good if you want to actually understand the material rather than just memorize but you dont strictly need it. just look up a local club and they can point you to the next VE session in your area, thats where you actually sit the exam

yeah what the other person said about HamStudy is spot on. id also add that the Gordon West study book is pretty popular, its written in a way thats easy to follow if youre new to electronics stuff. but plenty of people pass with just the free online resources so dont feel like you have to buy anything. one thing i'll say is dont overthink the studying, the question pool for tech is 426 questions and the test is only 35 of them, pass is 26 correct. once youve been through the pool a couple times it starts clicking. also check the ARRL website for exam sessions near you or use the club finder, some clubs do free license study sessions too which can help a lot if you get stuck on the theory bits