We're in a Golden Age for Amateur Radio
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 <a href="https://hamstudy.org/tech2018" rel="nofollow">https://hamstudy.org/tech2018</a> .    There are many exams every month, and it's only $15 (use <a href="http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session" rel="nofollow">http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-sessi...</a> to find a local exam)<p>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.<p>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.<p>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.<p>Since your first radio is $30 and the technician's exam is $15, it's a very easy and rewarding hobby to get into.