When I got my amateur radio license in 2019, I was a very shy ten-year-old who probably would have been nervous giving a presentation to her class at school. Somehow, getting an amateur radio license helped me become a much more confident and independent version of myself that the shy ten-year-old would never recognize.
The hobby has taught me countless lessons and has led me to become much more independent than I ever imagined I would have been at this point in my life.
The learning process of amateur radio begins with the exam. I got my license before I had taken so much as a formal algebra class—and long before I had exams that mattered for very much. My amateur radio license exams taught me how to study, which is a skill I have used almost every day since. Passing your licensing exam is something that you work for and earn, and the process helps instill a sense of independence in you. This continues even after getting your license. After you’re allowed to get on the air, it’s time to start assembling your station. While you may get some help from other hams, this is really your own project. Quite a bit of initiative is needed to be successful.
As you get more involved in the hobby, you must figure out what parts of amateur radio you want to pursue more deeply. This encourages—and almost forces—a sense of independence because you’re making decisions for yourself about what you want to pursue and how you want to do it. You have to take ownership of your learning and time, which helps build independence.
Amateur radio opens doors for those who are independent and motivated. There are seemingly endless opportunities for young people in the hobby, but one needs to be independent to take advantage of them. Nobody will work to get you where you want to be in the hobby other than yourself. Even though this can be challenging, it is a process full of lessons to be learned.
For me, the most valuable lessons in independence that amateur radio has taught concern traveling and my relationships with others. I was around twelve years old when I first began to travel for amateur radio. My parents took me on trips to various hamfests on the condition that I planned all of them. I was responsible for finding a hotel and rental car, if we needed one; figuring out the logistics of how long transportation would take; calculating how much the trip would cost and how much we could save; and creating our itinerary.
This was quite a challenge for the first trip or two, but it became significantly easier. I ended up enjoying planning the trips and traveling so much that it eventually led me to go on a study abroad program. Since then, I’ve traveled quite a bit independently, although never really “solo” thanks to the wonderful and supportive community of amateur radio operators around the world.
Regarding the amateur radio community mentioned above, one of the most important lessons in independence is how to form and maintain all sorts of relationships with people, especially in situations where it’s not simple to do. Many of my friends are now people I’ve met through amateur radio, which means most of them do not live anywhere near me. This has taught me how to manage relationships that are not fueled by the convenience of seeing each other every day.
Perhaps even more importantly, amateur radio has taught me how to make connections and form/maintain professional relationships with others. Most teenagers don’t have a good (or any!) chance to start networking before they are a few years into college, but those who are involved with amateur radio have the perfect opportunity to do so. Networking and forming relationships with mentors are aspects of amateur radio that nobody can do for you—you need to be independent about it.
Amateur radio itself won’t automatically make young people independent, but it gives them opportunities to develop that trait themselves. The environment to develop and practice independence is one that is not common for youth these days, and it’s incredibly important to help young people develop real skills in today’s world.
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