This is a fear a lot of new players have but you just answered your own question by saying it's the lowest level league for 6s, being the lowest level league/division, it's pretty much open for everyone, as long as you can operate a mouse and join the server you're good to go.

Then it all depends on how your team schedules things and how much effort you are willing to put in to improve but you really don't need to commit much time to play at the lowest level. I really wouldn't consider 4s just because they're easier, if you're looking for a good mixture of high paced action with a nice competitive environment 6s is your best bet.

iron is the level made for people who are completely new to competitive, there is no level of skill "required" to play in iron

no matter what division it is, the amount of time you spend practicing should be equal to how badly you want to win (a lot of ugc 6s/hl teams tend to scrim ~5 or 6 times a week if theyre serious about winning)

the only reasons 4s is a "joke" is because it's very silly, has no real meta, and is often seen as a "side gamemode" for 6s/hl players to play on a once-a-week basis, as it usually isnt scrimmed or taken too seriously. 4s isnt necessarily "easier" than 6s, but it certainly isnt taken as seriously most of the time

edit: also what kaneco said

so how much would a typical ugc iron team play each week? (scrims matches the whole package)

It depends on a team, some scrim more, some scrim less, and for matches, I think they're once a week, not sure

if youre going for placement, it would probably be around ~7 hours a week (5 scrims, 1 pregame, 1 match, each about an hour long)

If you scrim sun-thurs for two hours, then you have two matches a week you are looking at about 15 hours a week.

Or if you have one match and scrim for one hour each day or even less you have sub 8 hours a week

Remember what your getting into by committing to competitive be it lobby lord or joining a team. I've played video games all my life and it really hasn't taken a toll on me until I started to play competitive. The game starts to affect your mentality, on top of this its also a huge time consumer, not just playing the game, but keeping up with it to consumes a lot of time. I don't play tf2 that much anymore compared to when I was a pubber but I spend a lot of time keeping up with the game be it watching streams, reading forums, etc. It also took a big toll on my academics, when I started to play competitive I went from a 4.0 GPA to a 3.4.

Just know what your getting into and really if you limit your self well and try not to play as much it won't affect a lot, this game isn't one like csgo where you need to DM for 8 hours to play in a lobby. Having people around you that support you playing games competitively is also something that will make the process to competitive a lot more comfortable.

It all depends on the team.

Usually for 6s, at least in europe, people scrim Sunday/Monday-Thursday (and official matches on thursday), usually from 20-22pm, so 4 maps a day.

But some teams don't scrim mondays because of HL, and some only scrim tues-thursday, some only scrim 2 maps each day, others scrim more than 4. It all depends on the group of people in your team and how keen and available they are. Of course that has an impact on how the team will perform / improve. I've been on teams which scrimmed 4 maps almost every day and teams which played like 2 days a week, 1-2 maps, there's no definitive answer because it depends on the team you choose (or chooses you).

if you don't scrim you can always become an mge lord 8)

edit:kappa

.

how long does a season last for (in terms of weeks and months)

UGC regular season is 8 weeks + a max of 7 for playoffs

ESEA is about the same but there is a small break between playoffs and regular

they are the only people i feel have truly and legitimately wasted their time playing this game.

there are people who do nothing but play on trade/friendly servers all day and literally waste their days doing absolutely nothing to build skills or character, as well as (usually) losing maturity. I mean shit, at least MGElords get good 1v1 DM.

youd be surprised how untrue that is a lot of the time

Run before you can't escape. You can't leave once in Comp TF2.

it's still better than nothing

I'm not precisely answering your question but I can only recommand watching this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJvtXaLXjAE
Also watching casts in general helps a lot in understanding the game.

Welcome to competitive TF2! I actually got into comp through watching Sal's videos as well, they're a great starting point. I've made a little list of guides for new players which is definitely worth looking at if you're just starting out:
http://www.teamfortress.tv/thread/18435/collection-of-resources-tips-for-6v6

Starting to play competitive TF2 may seem a bit daunting at first, there are lots of experienced players and you may not be quite sure where you fit into that but rest assured that there's competition for every level of skill. On top of that, the community is really friendly and always willing to help if you have any questions. Good luck!

sorry i'm retarded. learned how to properly quote someone.

You literally make this game sound like a strung-out heroin binge. It's a game dude; if your gpa dropped that much by you not being able to control yourself then have fun spending the next 40 years of your life in AA or NA or sex addicts anonymous or whatever you choose to indulge yourself with.