This is one for people who've at least worked with simple circuits before and have a basic understanding of voltage, current, resistance, power, etc. No deep knowledge of electronics required, but not starting from zero either. In other words, pretty much anybody in engineering, tech, or the sciences, or who dabbles there. It boils down to a very few simple steps:
(0) You don't have to learn Morse code anymore. Full Stop. If you want you can learn it later, but that's up to you. When just getting into things though, don't let this side-project slow you down.
(1) Get and read Ham Radio for Dummies. It won't directly help you to pass the test, but it will give you the broad background where the rest of the topic makes sense. The current edition is from 2013, and I see there's about to be a 2018 edition released in late April next year. Don't put this off however, because there's a bootleg pdf of the 2004 edition you can pull for free right now, and it'll be enough to help you get licensed. Here's the link. But be sure to go buy the new edition when it comes out.
(2) Get the Band Plan chart. You'll be referring to it a lot while studying. Free pdf at the ARRL site. (Yes, the 2200 and 630 meter bands are new and won't be referred to in the current edition of Ham Radio for Dummies. Don't worry about it, you won't be using these for a while anyway.)
(3) Get and study the No-Nonsense Study Guides for Technician and General level licenses, once you've got a basic idea of which end's up (see steps #1 & 2). Don't bother with the Extra level until you have some operating experience. The author even gives away the Technician Guide for free, and the e-book versions (kindle, nook, or pdf) are under $10. Here's a link to the author's page.
(4) Practice using free online tests at qrz.com. Link here. Yes, you'll have to register and give them an email address, but they are not evil spammers.
(4.5, added since original post) Register with the FCC before your test. It's a new step, but it's not hard. Here's the link. Also, here's some more info links at the ARRL's site, including how-to-FCC-site videos.
(5) Find a testing site locally, and go get this thing done. Take the Technician and General tests at the same session. If you're a tech person, you've taken and passed far harder tests already. This one'll be a cake walk. They are administered by volunteers from clubs (no more driving 400 miles to an FCC office) and usually run about $15. Here's the find-a-test-session link. Not the most user-friendly site, just type in the zip code box and use the adjacent pull-down menu menu for how far you're willing to drive.
And that's it. Whole thing, you're out less than twenty five bucks plus gas money.
Let me repeat, don't try for testing up through Extra in that first go-round. The first two license levels, Technician and General, are plenty to get started with and are pretty easy to prepare for. The Extra exam is much harder, and is packed with a lot of details that very likely will not stick with you until you have the full context a year or so of operating experience will give. Also, Extra only opens up about 15% more of the HF bands. From a raw payoff-for-effort standpoint, probably not worth it.
Another tip, when you're studying and taking the practice tests, you don't need 100% scores, you just need 72% to pass. When you're consistently scoring above 85% on the practice exams, you're ready. Don't over-study, don't burn yourself out before you get to have fun with this, and above all, don't make the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Now having said all of the above, different people respond better to different styles of instruction, and not everyone is a scientist or engineer. If you want a little more detail, the good people over at the Ham Radio 360 podcast have put together a friendly getting started page.
Glad to get this post out. I keep getting asked this same question from scientists and engineers who don't need the full let's-take-it-from-zero course. It'll be nice to refer them to a written step-by-step.
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ps: "tech" vs. "Technician": The first level of ham radio license in the U.S. is unfortunately called "Technician" while somebody who is in a technology field is frequently (including here) said to be "in tech" or "a tech person" or similar. I've tried to keep the two distinct in this post, but if there's any lingering confusion hopefully this will clear it up.
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pps: If this post in any way inspires you to actually go out and get your ham ticket, please post a comment back. It'd be kind of... interesting.
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