so ive been a general for about two years now and people keep telling me to just go ahead and get my extra. i mostly do HF, some digital modes, bit of SSB on 40 and 20m. the general exam wasnt too bad once i studied for a few weeks but ive heard the extra has a lot more theory, like actual math and electronics stuff that i havent thought about since maybe high school.

my main question is just how deep does it really go? i dont have an engineering background or anything, just a hobbyist who figured out how to use the radio mostly by doing it. is the extra exam something a regular person can realistically pass or do you really need to understand all the theory behind it. also wondering if the extra privileges are even worth it for someone who mostly operates on bands that generals can already use anyway. not sure if this is even the right subforum for this

honestly it sounds scarier than it is. yeah there's some math, like filter calculations and reactance stuff, but the question pool is published so you're really just studying the actual questions you'll see. i used hamstudy.org and just grinded through it over maybe 6 weeks while watching some youtube videos on the theory parts i didn't get. the hardest bit for me was the antenna theory and some of the RF propagation questions but once you see how the math works it clicks. the extra privileges on HF are actually pretty nice even if you think you dont need them, like the phone portion of 75m and extra spectrum on 20m where its a bit less crowded. worth doing imo

im in basically the same boat as you, been general for like 18 months and been going back and forth on whether to bother. someone at my local club told me the extra question pool has some stuff about vacuum tubes and old technology that nobody uses anymore which seems kind of silly to memorize but whatever. i did start studying a little and the electrical theory sections are intimidating but its not like calculus or anything, mostly just ohms law variations and knowing what happens in LC circuits. havent taken it yet so cant say if i passed lol but i feel like its doable