Really they aren't. Many before you had that same reaction. It's all in what you want to do. Get started, get involved in the community of cockpit builders, and help will be abundant! I also had no idea on how to do anything, solder switch's, wiring, etc. It all came into grasp with trying, failing and asking for help. It becomes a passion. Start on a small scale, enhance your desktop system with some off-the-shelf modules that you can incorperate into a full cockpit. Have a look at Goflight radios. USB plg-n-play and work in x-plane with a python script already available.