If you're a software engineer, and know even a little electronics ( V=IR, basic components, schematics , etc), you can get your technician's license with 2-4 ho

If you're a software engineer, and know even a little electronics ( V=IR, basic components, schematics , etc), you can get your technician's license with 2-4 hours study using https://hamstudy.org/tech2018 https://hamstudy.org/tech2018 . There are many exams every month, and it's only $15 (use http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-sessi... to find a local exam) Think of your HAM license as a driver's license for radio communications, and you'll see it opens up a lot of opportunities & functionality. You can do voice simplex (radio-radio), chat on repeaters (bunny-hopping to reach distant stations), DMR (same as above, but digitally encoded), CW (morse code with low bandwidth & long range), APRS (digital beacons for GPS, weather, etc), and more. Most people experience radio through a commercial (aka unlicensed) product like GSM/CDMA (cell phones), WiFI, FM-broadcast, FRS (walkie talkies), CB Radio (trucker's radios) etc. That's a great intro, but so restricted it's kind of like comparing bumper-cars to driving a car. It's more than a just a hobby too. Most emergency response teams get licensed. The Red cross sent Hams to puerto rico when the network went down. Sailors still use radio to communicate. Since your first radio is $30 and the technician's exam is $15, it's a very easy and rewarding hobby to get into.