so ive been putting this off for like 6 months and my boss is finally pushing me to just get it done. i do real estate photography on the side and most clients are starting to ask if im certified. i bought the drone like 2 years ago and never really thought id need it but here we are

anyway i signed up for the test at a testing center about 45 mins from me, got a date in 3 weeks. i have no aviation background whatsoever. like zero. i dont even fly commercially. is 3 weeks enough time to study or am i screwed? also whats the stuff thats actually on it because ive seen people say airspace stuff is the hardest part and i dont even know what that means really

3 weeks is definitely doable if you actually sit down and study consistently. i did it with like 2.5 weeks and passed first try, no aviation background either. the airspace stuff sounds intimidating but once it clicks it kind of makes sense. sectional charts are the thing that trips most people up ? you need to be able to read them and understand the different airspace classes, like class B C D and G mostly. theres a free study course on the FAA website but honestly i used the Pilot Institute one on youtube, the guy goes through everything pretty clearly and its free.

the weather section is a bit annoying too, METARs and TAFs, you'll need to be able to decode those. dont skip that. i'd say just do practice tests over and over once you feel like you've covered the material, that helped me more than anything. the real test questions feel similar to the practice ones

it's not that bad but it's not a joke either. i've seen people go in thinking they can wing it and they don't pass. the sectional chart reading is genuinely something you have to learn from scratch if you've never seen one before. give yourself time for that specifically