okay so i finally got my general last spring and ive been doing a lot of HF since then, mostly 40m and 20m, and people keep talking about DXCC and WAS and WAZ and honestly i kind of just nodded along like i knew what they were talking about but i dont really have a clear picture of how any of this works or which one is even realistic for a newer guy like me to go after.

from what i gather DXCC is working 100 countries or entities or whatever they call them, WAS is all 50 states, and WAZ is zones? but i dont really understand the zone thing. is there a map or something that explains what counts as a zone. also do you have to use a specific mode or can you mix contacts from different modes together. i have an IC-7300 and a wire dipole in the attic so im not exactly running kilowatts here but ive already worked like 30 something states just messing around and maybe 20-25 countries if my log is right.

anyway just looking for some direction i guess. like which award actually makes sense to focus on when youre still kinda learning the ropes and dont have a big antenna setup.

WAS is probably the most approachable one to start with honestly, especially since you're already at 30 states just from casual operating. the tricky ones are usually the less populated states like Delaware, Rhode Island, sometimes Alaska and Hawaii depending on when you're on. 40m is great for WAS because you can work shorter distances and the regional stuff fills in nicely. once you get to maybe 40-45 states you might have to be more intentional about hunting the missing ones but it's totally doable with what you have.

DXCC takes a bit more patience but 20-25 entities already is a solid start, i wouldnt ignore it either. just log everything and let LoTW do its thing. the credits pile up faster than you think especially during good propagation or when a rare one pops up and gets spotted on the DX cluster. WAZ i'd probably save for later, the zone map is a little weird at first and some zones are genuinely hard to fill even for experienced guys. there's a free zone map on the CQ website if you search around for it.

main thing is just keep logging. you dont have to pick one and ignore the others, they all kind of happen in parallel if you stay active.

same boat as you were not too long ago lol. i just decided to chase DXCC first because the DX side of it felt exciting to me, like each new entity feels like a little win. WAS kind of snuck up on me in the background while i was doing that. just make sure you're uploading to LoTW because you'll want those confirmations and paper QSLs take forever sometimes.