1. Like Scrappy said, it depends on your goals. If you go in willingly accepting that you're not going to be on ESPN, then you'll be fine. You also need to be in decent shape physically. Even your average 4th grade games require quite a bit of running on the official's part.
2. Official, referee, zebra, stripes, blue, whatever is fine. Official is kind of a generic term and doesn't imply a specific assignment within the crew. But we generally use official and referee pretty interchangeably.
What really drives me is the challenge. It's like a whole new sport, with its own skills to master. Can you see everything, and call only what matters? Can you perform under pressure? Can you come up with the proper rule in the very moment you need it when something unusual happens? And then can you go out next game, and do it all a little better?
3. I really despise those people who act as though the game is all about them. Be it the wreck ball warrior who berates you for not covering his shortcomings with your whistle. Or the wannabe coach whose team is getting beat and he has nothing left except to ride the official. Or little Suzie's daddy in the third row who truly believes the only reason his princess isn't getting calls from the WNBA is that incompetent refs are holding her back. Or partners that come into a game with the mentality of "I hate these games but I condescend to work them so I can get the games I want." Or worst of all, partners who come into a game with the mentality of, "This is only a [whatever kind] of game, let's not call anything, let's not bother with mechanics, let's not deal with coaches. Just get this over with so I can collect my check and go do [something else] tonight."
4. Proficiency is an elusive and ever changing goal. It took me about three seasons before I was "proficient enough" to handle most sub-varsity games with no issues. I'm in my sixth year now, and I'm still actively working on officiating some aspects of the game. I have plenty to keep me busy for a long time to come. I worked a game earlier in the year with a 40 year veteran. I'd be willing to bet lunch that he's got things he's working on too. I'd also be willing to bet that the things he's working on won't even appear on my radar for many years yet.
Then again, if it was easy enough that you could learn to do it all in a year or two, where would the challenge be?
