okay so i got my general ticket about 8 months ago and ive been doing a lot of HF work lately, mostly 20m and 40m, and people keep talking about DXCC and WAS and WAZ and honestly i dont fully understand how they all relate to each other or if theres like a logical order to go after them in

from what i can tell DXCC is working 100 different countries or entities or whatever they call them, WAS is all 50 states, and WAZ is the 40 zones thing? but then theres mixed modes and band endorsements and stuff and i kind of got lost reading the ARRL page about it

my current logging software is showing me at 47 confirmed entities and like 38 states so im getting close-ish on WAS i guess. do the confirmations have to be through lotw or can i still use paper QSL cards for credit? and is there any reason to do one before the other or does it just depend on what youre chasing on the bands

sorry if this is a dumb question, everyone at my club seems to assume i already know this stuff

not a dumb question at all, i remember being exactly where you are maybe 3 years ago and feeling like everyone was speaking a different language when awards came up at club meetings

so yeah your definitions are basically right. WAS and DXCC are both ARRL awards, WAZ is through the CQ magazine folks. they're totally separate programs with separate fees and applications. you can pursue all three simultaneously, lots of people do, your log credits just apply toward whichever ones you qualify for

for ARRL awards like DXCC and WAS, LoTW confirmations are the easiest path by far. paper cards still count but you have to mail them in physically and there's a card checking fee situation involved. honestly if you're already at 38 states confirmed i'd push to finish WAS first just because it's achievable faster and there's nothing like getting that first award certificate to light a fire under you. some of the harder states like ND and DE can take a while to find but they're out there

WAZ is a bit more involved since some zones are genuinely rare. zone 26 in central africa for example, you might be waiting a while. but the CQ programs have their own LoTW integration now too so your existing confirmed QSOs might count there as well, worth checking

i went after WAS first and really glad i did tbh. finished it last year and the process of hunting down all 50 taught me so much about propagation and operating that it made chasing DX way easier afterward. also WAS feels more achievable when you're starting out, like you can actually hear alaska and hawaii on 20m pretty regularly

one thing though - double check that your logging software is pulling confirmed entities vs just worked ones. mine was showing me a higher number than i actually had confirmed in lotw and i got excited for nothing lol