I am a USA Cycling Level C official, and work at USAC-sanctioned bicycle road and track racing events in my area.  Becoming a USAC official is easy - attend an afternoon seminar and get a 70% grade on an open book test.  Getting the experience to be a good official is hard.  The USAC Rule Book is complicated, races are a fast-moving blur, and the other more-experienced officials are too busy or involved with their responsibilities to explain much.  You have to be willing to pick it up as you go, make "new-guy" mistakes, and tolerate having the racers, the race promoter and the other officials thinking you are a dumb-ass.  Leave your pride at home, ask questions until the other officials don't feel like answering anymore, and write down what they tell you because you can't possibly remember it all.  At the end of my first race year, I think I have progressed to semi dumb-ass, and I'm proud of that.