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 need a license to transmit which i didnt really know. i found like three different study sites and i dont know which one is actually good or if i should just buy a book or what. also i dont totally understand the difference between technician and general, like do most people just start with technician and then upgrade later or is there some reason to skip straight to general. i took a practice test on one of the sites and got like a 60% which i think means im not ready but honestly i dont know how hard the real test is or what to expect when i actually show up to take it. any advice would be helpful, i feel like im going in circles reading forums and not getting anywhere

yeah technician is definitely where everyone starts, dont stress about skipping to general right away. most people do tech first and then upgrade when they feel like it, sometimes years later, sometimes a few months. for studying honestly hamstudy.org is what i used and it worked great, you just drill the question pool over and over until you're getting 85% or better consistently and you'll be fine on the actual exam. the real test is pulled from the same question pool so there are no surprises. when i went to take mine i was nervous for nothing, the VE team was really friendly and it took maybe 20 minutes total. just keep doing practice tests every day for a couple weeks and you'll pass no problem.

i literally just did this like two months ago so i can tell you what worked for me. i tried the hamstudy site and also the arrl book from the library, the book was kind of dry honestly but it helped me understand the why behind some of the questions which made them easier to remember. the practice tests are the main thing though. i think i did maybe 10 full practice tests over like 3 weeks and went from failing to passing pretty consistently. day of the exam i was kind of nervous but the questions felt really familiar and i passed with only a couple wrong. one thing i didnt know going in is that some VE sessions let you take the general exam the same day if you pass tech, which i wish i had studied for because i probably could have done both