I've been to ham radio clubs and the age gap is real. I go to the meetups in the Chicago land area and only see about one or two people my age. The people my age are usually sons or daughters of the older people.
The club I started in had a less pronounced issue, but we also went to the pub after the main meet, and there was a secondary, technical only night run by members of the club.
This made it a bit more welcoming and and less off putting to 20 year old me, but the local club up here meet once a week and it's a tight clique.
I don't even want to try to break in to it! That said, it's not a bad thing that clubs exist to serve their members if that's what they want to do, we'll just make our own, hopefully more friendly club run by guys in their 30s!
I got my license at age 15 in 1999. I'm 36 now, and still among the "young" people in the local club. That said, ham radio has been a huge, important part of my life, and is what inspired me to be an engineer. The people I've met through it, both young and old, have been really great.
The club I started in had a less pronounced issue, but we also went to the pub after the main meet, and there was a secondary, technical only night run by members of the club.
This made it a bit more welcoming and and less off putting to 20 year old me, but the local club up here meet once a week and it's a tight clique.
I don't even want to try to break in to it! That said, it's not a bad thing that clubs exist to serve their members if that's what they want to do, we'll just make our own, hopefully more friendly club run by guys in their 30s!