hey guys,
i heard kali linux is a good os for hacking/pentesting. is it beginner friendly? im thinking of switching to it but im scared that i wont understand anything.
You won't understand anything. If you don't have a least a fundamental understanding of computer programming, networking, file systems/permissions, etc then you have no business using kali/parrotOS.
You need to start with the fundamentals, because cybersecurity builds heavily on those.
You could run it on a virtual machine while you learn it? That way it saves you switching your whole OS to something your not sure about