okay so ive been interested in ham radio for a while now mostly because my neighbor does it and it looks really cool but i have no idea where to even start with getting a license. i know there are different levels or classes or whatever but i dont know which one to go for first or how the test even works. do you have to go somewhere in person? is it multiple choice? how hard is it really because i work full time and cant dedicate like months to studying

also someone told me you have to know morse code which sounds terrifying so if thats true please tell me now lol. any help would be appreciated i really dont know what questions to even ask here

the morse code thing hasnt been required since like 2007 so you can relax on that front. for starting out you want the Technician license which is the entry level one, and honestly the test is not that bad at all. its 35 questions multiple choice and you need 26 right to pass. the question pool is completely public so you literally study from the exact questions that might show up on your test, which makes it pretty manageable even with a busy schedule.

most people use hamstudy.org which is free and just drills you with practice exams until you feel comfortable. i think i studied maybe 2-3 weeks doing like 20-30 minutes a night and passed no problem. some people cram it in a weekend if theyre determined. for the actual test you go to a VE session, Volunteer Examiner session, which are held by local clubs pretty regularly, and you can find them on the arrl website. some are in person some are remote now depending on your area.

joining your local club before the test is actually a smart move too because a lot of them hold licensing classes and the elmers there can answer questions way better than any website

i was in the exact same spot about 8 months ago. honestly just go to hamstudy.org and start doing practice tests even before you study anything, just to see where you land. i was surprised how much of the tech exam is just common sense stuff about electrical safety and basic radio theory. the regulations parts can be a little dry but they stick after a while.

one thing i wish someone told me sooner is dont overthink the math questions, theres only a few of them and if you look up ohms law and the basic formulas theyre not bad at all. also the Gordon West study book is pretty popular if you like having an actual physical book to read through, i used both that and hamstudy and felt pretty prepared. the test itself felt way less stressful than i expected