I’m studying for my General and I’m getting above 90 in the practice exams. I’m thinking about studying for my Extra after General and go for it.

How hard is the Extra?

Extra is definitely more challenging and pulls from a question pool of 750, instead of 450 with the General. I studied for my General for about 4-6 weeks, my Extra was about 2 months. I used hamstudy.org or a variation of.

You can take the Extra exam anyway, and they encourage you to do that. I think it's worth studying for.

Most assuredly worth going "all the way"

My extra class was done in 1975 so not too relevant here, BUT the wife completed her Extra last year after about 6 weeks of occasional study over an internet study service I paid $35 for. She got it first try over 90 percent.  She has ZERO electronics experience. Never worked in an electronics related industry or anything like that. She had been a ham since 1983 but not too active. She was grandfathered into General from  the old Tech Plus license. Since she had 5 wpm code she slid into General many  years ago without taking another test.

She just decided to get the Extra out of the way.  I would recommend going for it.

Extra is worth it, but was far more challenging for me.  I studied 2 weeks combined for my tech and general and aced both tests.  I studied every waking minute for a month(I had a position which allowed 8-10 hours if study per shift), and missed 2 on the Extra test.  

I still refer to my Extra text book occasionally when I get stuck troubleshooting electronics, so it was definitely worth it for me.

20WPM Extra here.

The Advanced test of way back when was more challenging and passage netted you most of the modern day Extra privileges. I got mine because I did a lot of QRP CW work and the bottom 25KHz was where all the good DX hung out.

It didn't seem harder than General, I took it two weeks after I passed that because it was the next time they had a testing session.

I did take enough to pay for two exams (though I did that on all three levels) and the youtube channel that I was watching lessons for was for the previous test, so I did the test exam apps, and read the question bank.

I didn't ever get a score, but the guy that was grading my exam came and shook my hand and gave me his card and welcomed me to not needing to pay attention to where I transmit.

It wasn't blow my socks off hard, but it was noticeably tougher than the other two. I had to really read and look up stuff a lot more to understand. Some of it, I still didn't understand. It just went over my head.

I remember thinking the EXTRA question pool was way different than the others.  But I bet it has changed a lot.  Not sure how many time relevant answers you'll get.

Yes, it is much harder than the General, and there was still a bunch I did not quite understand. Now I am doing stuff where learning the answers it begins to click.

There are still some people that know a lot more than I do. But I am still young compared to most of the guys. So with time comes wisdom and knowledge.

Study for it and it won't be that hard. Don't be intimated; just plug away at studying. If you use the free Study mode in Hamstudy.org it'll keep track of the % of questions you've answered and the % you get right. Do the General and then start doing Extra until you've seen all the questions and your cumulative score is high. It's really not that bad.  It is worth the effort so you can be on more of the bands.

I believe the extra question pool is changing very soon as well. Just something to be aware of

Good call. My book is good until June 30,2024.

Definitely well worth the effort. It gives you access to the band segments where the DX and rare ones hang out.

I used hamstudy.org and just drilled away at the questions when I had free time during the day. I aced the test. But there is a lot more to actually comprehending the material. So it
depends a little on your goal. I already held Advanced class for 40 odd years, Extra was mostly a bucket list thing.

I casually studied for extra for a few months then randomly took the exam at a hamfest. Failed by 1 question so they let me take the other version. Failed that by 1 question too

Spent another month actually studying and passed with 2 missed questions.

Easier than general imo.  
That being said, I am an EE working in LMR so about all i needed to study up on is the amateur-specific stuff.

Also, no-code extra.  One of "those guys".

I'll let you know in 4 days. I've been studying all 3 for about a month. 3ish hours a day and taking a practice test for each every evening. ~ 95% now across the board. I'm testing all 3 in one sitting.

Extra is dense material but very doable. Of course, if I fail, ignore me.

That's interesting. Do you think it was easier because Extra got more into things that are in your wheelhouse as opposed to Tech and General which are mostly just amateur related?

If you are already studying for general, I would get that pool down and then start studying extra as well. To me, they go together much easier than tech and general does.  

I did general and extra together, about 1.5 year after getting tech, and I'm one of those dirty no code extras.

However, if you feel like it's too much information to keep track of, don't be worried to do it each level at separate testing sessions. I didn't know any better and tried having all 3 levels selected when using hamtestonline when I first got interested in 2013 and it totally overwhelmed me because I was already loaded down with a bunch of other stuff at the time.

The Extra has a lot more “science” to it; the EE’s I work with state they essentially only study the rules/refs in the question pools.

Im waiting for the new pool to be published this July, then I’ll pour into it, Extra is a goal this year.

As an aside, one of the senior PHD EE’s I work with is the Army’s SME in regards to high power microwave, and states one questions in the Extra pool in regards to electrical/radio theory is wrong.  I tend to believe him over the FCC, ARRL.

Yeah that's what I was getting at. When I studied for and took Extra it was way more EE based.

November 2008.  Bought some books online.  Can't remember the author.  4 weeks studying off and on.
Walked in with no class.  Walked out with Extra Class.  Wasn't all that hard. Not sure how it pertains to  you 16 years or so later.

Absolutely.

My situation is similar to SnowMule's. The code requirement officially sunset on Friday, 23 Feb 2007. At that point I had been designing, building and testing complex RF systems for over twenty years. I had no interest in ham radio and didn't have a clue about the code thing but read about it in a news article over breakfast the next day, Saturday. Out of curiosity I tried an online test for Tech. The basic electrical, RF and safety questions were common knowledge to me. Only the regulatory stuff needed to be memorized. I looked at the ARRL website to see when the next test in my area was. At 1000 that morning I got my Tech at the local library, failed the General. I didn't think that was bad for only an hour studying the question pool. That would not stand, of course, so the next Saturday I banged out the General and Extra. Then I sat on that license for several years before I started to play radio.

I can't speak to today's Extra question pool, but in 2007 the technical part of the Extra question pool could be divided into four basic areas: conversions between log and linear units (e.g. dBW vs Watts), complex math (i.e. real and imaginary numbers), Smith charts, and circuit topologies. dB's were easy peasy, I use them literally every day. Complex math not so often but it was already in my toolbox. Smith charts I had to brush up on but that was relatively easy. The circuit topology questions were a PITA that I had to memorize because I never had to design simple amp's and oscillators out of discrete components, I just specified integrated circuits

As I was studying for the test I could do the log/linear conversions mostly in my head, occasionally reaching for a calculator if the multiple choice answers were not clearly unambiguous.

Similarly, the complex math questions could be done mostly in my head. It's relatively easy to determine what quadrant of the unit circle the correct answer is in. Grabbing the calculator was often only necessary if you weren't sure about two answers.

Smith charts were also done by inspection.

As already noted, the circuit topology stuff I just memorized.

For you newer, more recent Extras: is the technical part of the question pool still like that?

This. I used the flashcard type of method too and was in and out in like 10-15 minutes and passed with only a couple wrong I think.

That's interesting. But makes perfect sense. I also agree they with the Tech and General it was stuff I knew, could easily understand so on. Extra went way over me in a lot of instances. It seemed way more involved.

I can tell you this much: The test I took a few years ago to get a license to sell life and health insurance (270 questions) was far far and away more complicated and required far more study than ANY amateur test and even the commercial radio phone tests I took eons ago. And I took that test in my mid 60's when learning new things don't come as easy.

The insurance test is heavily proctored where you are required to empty your pockets before going into the test room and you are given a big key to open the locker that your stuff is put into and led into a room where you are instructed to not look to your left or right and sit at your terminal with them having access to your terminal and a camera/microphone pointed at you. When you complete your test (about 3 hours for me) you are supposed to raise your hand but she had already saw my progress on the monitor and was standing behind me. I was led out of the room wordlessly to the front desk and retrieved my stuff from the locker. she tore a sheet off of a printer and said "you passed".  Nothing less, nothing more, and you had signed an agreement not to talk with anyone about the test.

I was so relieved to get out side walking to my car that I felt I had been let out of prison. The amateur tests are a "piece of cake" compared to this.

Yes, with the secret handshake too.
I thought the terst already changed from 1000+ questions when I took it, to 700 something.

Sitting for an FAA test is exactly like that, including video monitoring. You are allowed scratch paper and pencil, but they even supply that because apparently someone figured out how to cheat using their own

Present

That's true too. Only FAA test I've ever taken is part 107 for drones and it shockingly monitored. Pilots I can understand. But drones?

It was hard for me, I'm not all that smart.  I just always heard of guys having their general for years alwasy wanting to upgrade just never getting around to it.  I decided to just get it all out of the way.  Back in 20/21 I got my Tech, in Nov. General in December and Extra in Feb.  

I learn by doing, and book stuying is difficult for me.  I got the test out of the way and the real learning is just beginning.  

Funny thing is my wife got her Tech and was scoring high 90's after about 2 hours of study.  I tried to get her to start on the general section but she didnt want to.  She got 100% on the tech and missed general by 1 question....lol

My mistake was not going straight to Extra.

I think I became an Extra 2 months or so after I went from nothing to General.

I would have just meant a little more study.

FWIW I went into it NOT trying to learn anything BUT how to pass a test.

I learned on the job.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I relied on brute force  memorization of EVERY SINGLE QUESTION FROM ALL THREE POOLS on Hamstudy to pass all three tests with 100% scores. I went into the testing sessions in 2021 knowing that there was no question they could throw at me that I couldn't answer correctly. I initially planned to just take the Technician and General tests the same day and be done with it. Then the following day after those tests, I decided I wanted to go for Amatuer Extra. Two weeks later I took that test. I spent every spare moment taking practice tests on HamStudy. I'm talking one after the other, over and over, for extended periods of time. I had zero electronics training.

My method won't be for everyone, especially those who are more inclined to learn the material than to simply memorize the answers. I just wanted to pass the tests and learn the material later via "on the job (air) training". Good luck on your testing!

Sorry for the thread drift in the ham forum, but...

When you consider that drones and drone operators represent a proven threat to manned aircraft, IMHO drone operators don't get enough training.

This goes double for me, a helicopter pilot, because I and my fellow helicopter pilots often inhabit the same <400AGL airspace that drones do.

I scored the same on mine. Listened to Gordo's cd's while driving, twice. Then took practice tests.

I failed the extra code test twice in the mid 1980's. Roughly 25 years later, I studied and passed the extra in 2007. My son passed his tech test that day due only to my posting a $100.00 prize if he did.

My take is pass the test whatever way works for you. Not everyone is going have electronic design and build experience. In fact, my answer to the last couple of would be smart asses that asked if I built my own ham radio is "did you build your last cell phone?"  The technology to build modern day multiband radios is beyond basement tech.

The old Advanced test was heavy into the EE stuff. When Extra was separate, IIRC it was questions on satellite stuff, some regulatory stuff, other off-the wall things. Most thought the Advanced was by far the most difficult of the written tests, the hurdle for Extra was the 20wpm code. When the 13 and 20wpm code was eliminated and license classes consolidated down to three, the Advanced and Extra material was combined together into the new Extra test.

I took the easy route... just before the change, tried to upgrade to Extra, passing the written but failing (again ) the 20wpm... but I had the CSCE for the Extra written. After the change, went in to a test session with Advanced license and the Extra written CSCE, VEs fill out a new CSCE for upgrade to Extra. Didn't have to pass the EE stuff again.

Now that you put it that way, makes sense.

Schedule a test and do it.

I thought extra was a lot harder then the others, but I scored the best on that exam since I prepped way more out of fear and respect.

It was entertaining remembering how to use an old trig calculator and math I hadn't seen in 30+ years.

@Highlighter  The Extra test is still all multiple choice, so I think that is a lot easier than if you had to pull all of the correct answers from your head. The session is what, $30? So, the worst that could happen is you lose your $30.

If you study - even the flash card method I suggested - you should pass. Remember, the passing % is not very high. I managed to pass, and I had ZERO electronics or circuitry knowledge beforehand, and I stink at math.

I passed Extra in 2006. I studied every day at work during my lunch break for several weeks before the exam took place. Maybe a month, or just a bit less.

I managed to pass it first time out, which surprised me to be honest. At the time, I was in and out of the hobby, so I thought I'd forget things.

It went pretty well, I seem to remember getting 2 incorrect answers. The testers congratulated me anyway.

It's definitely worth the effort. The extra frequencies are nice, and not worrying about crossing the line is good to have.

I'd like to get extra just for the heck of it.  If my ham activities were running up against the limitations of extra class band segments every time I wanted to use the radios, I'd be in a bigger hurry to upgrade, but it's only very rarely that I see a signal I want to respond to that isn't in the general band segment.

That sounds good UNTIL something happens like you hear North Korea with a 5x9 signal in the Extra portion of the band and the pileup is small because you got in early.

ETA Murphy was an optimist.

If not just to move up in the HAM caste system.  You can draw water from same spigots as Extra.

Become a high priest or scholar in the amateur radio realm.

I love it when I find a DX station down in the Extra part of a band. Much easier to have a QSO.

Took extra right after general. It made my head hurt but I passed.

I got my Life, Accident and Health license at 48, but I feel ya about learning new stuff when you're a bit older.

And, despite my late dad having been a physics prof, I suck at math. I passed my tech first go, but missed the general by a few questions. I'd love to use my FT-817 to it's full potential, but it's probably not in the cards.

Precisely mirrored my process, including three 100% exams. The Extra exam got me nods from several club members. The next goal will be CW when I can dedicate the time.

@Former11BRAVO

Just use hamstudy.org in the (free) STUDY mode. Forget practice tests. Just keep hitting the questions in Study mode. Why do it this way? Because it will tell you instantly if your answer is right or wrong. If wrong, you click the upper corner of the question and it will give you the full explanation.  You need that immediate reinforcement, if you are going to learn. The practice tests don't give you an immediate correct or incorrect response.

As you go along answering questions, the site will keep track of, and display for you, the % of each category of question you have completed, AND how well you are scoring. This is cumulative. You can go back day after day, and it will keep your numbers.

Keep going until you have answered 100% of questions in all the categories. It is a known finite set of questions. Then, keep going some more to push your cumulative score up. You will know when you have the confidence to take the exam, but I suggest hitting 90% in your cumulative numbers.

Doesn't matter how many weeks or months it may take you to feel like you know the questions, but if you stick with this approach, you will eventually be able to pass the remaining tests. Just keep going for a few minutes every day until you feel confident.