Passed Amateur Extra Exam--You Should Do It Also!

Well, today...after a very long period of procrastination...I passed my Extra exam with 94%. That means I missed 3 questions out of 50...well sort of... I didn't go with my first choice on a question on RMS/Peak to Peak Voltage, or I would have made a 96%. Anyway, for anyone thinking of pursuing the Amateur Extra Class, here are some words of encouragement.

First off, it is a workable goal. I once wrote a dissertation where the anxiety level was devastating. A professor told me the secret: one page at a time. Like a lot of hams, I aimed to go for it, but life, family and not wanting to give up free time just put studying on the back burner. I let the date expire on my ARRL study book, and then my 2 year subscription on Ham Test Online expired...still no exam. So, I re-purchased a 2 year subscription and got the Gordon West book to study. I also downloaded a ham test program to my tablet and phone.

I studied whenever possible. I tried to follow the advice on the web site of Ham Test Online. I would get tired of studying for a while, and then have to re-learn some of it. I would have to remind myself that this was something I really wanted, and to keep plugging along. I did one specific thing they suggested: I did not take a bunch of practice exams, but kept the program in study mode. In retrospect, I think that kept a lot of anxiety away as I did not keep failing exams while studying.

I drove to a city a little over an hour away to take the exam. If I failed it, at least the local guys wouldn't know about it... I don't recall a time when I've been so nervous about taking an exam. From what I'd heard, the Spanish Inquisition might have been easier. My hands were severely shaking while I filled out the form.

Then, I got the exam. I answered the questions that I knew the answer to first. Then, I went back to the so-so ones and completed them. Then, I completed the ones that were hardest. I wrote those down (something like 7-8) to see about later. The examiners graded the test, making wise-cracks about if I wanted to take the test again. Hoping for the best, I sat there and joked back with them. One of them took the questions I had noted and looked at them. I found out that if I had gone with my first choice on the RMS question, it would have been correct. Of the 7-8 I wrote down, only 1 was a wrong answer. I had been so afraid of all the electrical questions, math formulas, and components! In the end, not only were there less than I had anticipated, but they weren't that hard to answer.

In the end, I walked out as KJ4KKI/AE, soon to be an official Amateur Extra Class ham. The pressure to study is over. The anxiety is over. I sort of feel like a kid on Christmas night. The excitement is over; I have my toys, but the anticipation is gone. In that void, there is now a sense of pride and accomplishment. Like the Army, I want to be all that I can be.

I hope that you can get your Extra also. Good luck!