Hi Westy,
I have been a ham for over 15 years--it is a great hobby/service!
On advice on what to get for a first radio. An HT is a good choice if you live in a city area where there are lots of repeaters. If you live in a rural area where the repeaters are few or a long distance away a mobile with its higher power makes much more sense for your first radio.
I would recommend you find a local ham club and check out the meetings--a great source of info, and also would echo going to eham.com for reviews of radios there.
Congrats on your ticket
Ford
KG7IW