so ive had my general for about two years now and honestly i keep putting off the extra exam because every time i look at the question pool it just seems like a wall of math and stuff i dont really understand. like the filter stuff and the impedance matching sections specifically. im decent at operating, done some HF, a little contesting, got my feet wet with digital modes but the theory side of things was never really my strong suit back when i took general either.

i guess my actual question is, for people who went through it, how much of that advanced theory do you actually need to understand vs just memorizing the answers? and is there any point where you actually start using that knowledge on the air or when building stuff? i dont want to just paper license my way through it but also i dont have time to basically go back to school for RF engineering

also wondering if the full privileges thing is worth it. what bands or modes am i actually missing out on right now that would matter to me

honest answer? i memorized a lot of it the first time through. used the hamstudy flashcards and just drilled until the patterns stuck. but here's the thing that surprised me - after i passed and started actually playing with antennas and building stuff, some of that theory started clicking on its own. like i knew the formula for resonant frequency but it didnt mean anything until i was actually trying to figure out why my homebrew dipole was off. so dont feel bad about memorizing to pass, you pick up the real understanding later.

as for privileges, the extra portions of 40 and 75/80 meters are genuinely less crowded, especially for phone. 60 meters is also worth looking into depending on what you do. if you ever get into cw the extra segments on the lower bands are nice too. its not night and day but its noticeable

i took mine like six months ago and the filter theory and the smith chart stuff was the part that almost made me give up. i still dont fully get smith charts if im being honest lol. but i passed and its fine. the exam questions are finite, you can learn the pool, it doesnt have to mean you understand every single concept deeply right now. thats what the rest of your ham life is for i guess