I don't recommend IDA to newcomers. Binja and Hopper are both easier to get started with. Hopper will even do a half-assed job of converting assembly to analogous C code (you have to pay Hex-Rays quite a bit of money for the same functionality).
It definitely won't take you years to learn how to understand disassemblies! You can get to 80% proficiency in a few weeks, just by understanding how control flow graphs work.
... and that last 20% proficiency will take until the heat death of the universe. It'll be fun trying though, and you'll learn lots of really cool things.
It definitely won't take you years to learn how to understand disassemblies! You can get to 80% proficiency in a few weeks, just by understanding how control flow graphs work.