I built many of my own rigs from kits, and many items around the shack from scratch (as I got better w/ electronics even designed a couple simple circuits) and had to take the CW test, mind you only at 5 wpm, but I worked my way up to 20, now I’m back down to 10, having been qrt. I always homebrewed my antennas, except for mobile, too much trouble there. The point being that there’s still fun to be had if you put your mind to it, plenty of kits and tinkering, especially if you live in a place with a nice supplier of components.
As for the Army, I’m a reservist with 8 months of active duty under my belt. Was originally in human resources, then food inspection–they kicked me out at the end of training when they found I wouldn’t taste the food–and now as a dental specialist, essentially a dental assistant. The Army is amazingly accommodating regarding shabbos and kashrus if you have the guts to ask for it, btw. I want to get my code speed back up in case I’m deployed I understand that ham radios are allowed to be operated in OEF/OIF.