Welcome! Glad you decided to stop lurking 
I despise needles (But am not squeamish about wounds in general), and the install is not that bad, very brief discomfort and that’s about it. If you get them in the usual spot (between your thumb and forefinger) I would say it really feels more weird than painful.
Recovery wasn’t an issue for me, but your mileage may vary slightly. It’s generally recommended to be gentle on your hands/implants for at least 2 weeks, but for the most part even within that time you can behave as normal
To couple to that, it can take 2 weeks or so for swelling to go down and your inplant’s performance to improve, so don’t panic if you get it installed and it doesn’t immediately read,
More info about healing can be found in the FAQ:
There are a few maps out there, and though I’ve never noticed much of a difference between them myself, I still recommend checking a each of them just in case, one might show something another does not.
In addition to the maps, there is this guide about approaching a piercer/professional/potential installer who might not be familiar with these implants:
If you’re comfortable sharing your general location some people on the forum might also know of someone specific they could point you towards
That’s exactly how I decided my first one, I’m right handed, so the implant went in my left hand so I could hold my phone in my right hand to scan it.
Beyond that, it really comes down to how you want to use it, and which hand is better/more comfortable to use in that way. As another example, I’ve heard people talk about putting payment implants in the hand that’s easiest to reach out their car window with for drive-thru banking and the likes.
If you want to know more about positioning, this is a great resource: