davidvnyc, the genesis of the amateur radio service had been in people who were builders and innovators. The talking on the radio part was often secondary to making stuff. It was easy for someone to trash the bands with their experimental project, so the government developed a proficiency exam. In the early days, that meant using Morse Code, so there was also a proficiency exam for that. After it was discovered that propagation went beyond national borders, there were also provisions added to the Rules that included fostering "good will" between nations.
The graduations of proficiency were reflected in the bell curve distribution. Novices and technicians being on the lower point of distribution, generals (and "conditionals") in the middle, and advanced and amateur extras at the top. Historically, the FCC (encouraged by the ARRL) had developed incentives for hams to upgrade. Technicians were originally the innovators that played with higher frequencies. They were not the entry-grade they are today. And, the technician category was not popular until post-WWII VHF operators emerged in various neighborhoods. Back then, 6 meter AM was king for local communications (if you can believe! Gonset Communicators and horizontal loop or square antennas!). That, and HF, are where the stereotype of hams wrecking TV reception came from. Even 2 meters had a lot of AM activity. It was all crystal controlled and you could call CQ on one frequency and tune your receiver around for someone to answer you on another. I got in on the tail end of that and had some very lengthy conversations about absolutely nothing. Sometime in the late 60s/early 70s, this magical device called a "repeater" came on scene. It was the social media of the time, and everyone would speak with each other in passing on their way to and from work or errands. That kind of took on its own meaning within amateur radio.
So, the "technician" class license isn't really a license to be a technician. It's one where you get to demonstrate your knowledge of the environment you'll be working in. Yes, there's a legacy of electronics theory, but there are a lot of rules and limits you also need to know so you don't end up unknowingly transmitting on top of a police department's operations.
It's not hard (at least it's not as hard as when I took it in the 70s). My wife and kids all studied and earned their licenses. My older daughter even went on to become an extra, and my older son became a general. The others are technicians. When I was climbing the ladder to extra, the FCC deliberately made the test hard, and if word got out about any of the questions, they'd change the test. It's not like that anymore.
Hope you take it. I don't think you'll be sorry. We never stop learning.