Mining has piqued my interest over these last few days and I would like to do it for a profit and for fun as a hobby but from what I understand this is becoming increasingly difficult. I figure Bitcoin mining is too competitive to bother so I mainly have my eyes on Scrypt coins but I am afraid to invest in these GridSeed devices with all the supposed Scrypt ASICs right around the corner.
What do you guys think? Waste of time/money/resources?
I'd advise forget about profit as a motivation because it's not guaranteed, talent doesn't even matter when you mine something and demand dries up or government actions attack it. Are you interested in economics? Technology? Innovation? Speculative investing? If any of those apply then go for it, just don't rip your credit card to do it. Start small and work your way in. Everyone will talk you out of it and they will promise the next big thing is a week away. People have been preaching about "Black Arrow" miners since November of last year, and while my gear has been mining they still wait. Opportunity cost comes in the form of waiting. Profit or loss doesn't matter so much if you do it for the right reasons; profit is a desirable outcome, not a reason. I'm kinda an Econ nerd, and I like speculative investing, messing with hardware scares me but I've learned a lot. Bitcoin mining was also massively helpful during my economics and supply chain classes, scored some good points on essays about mining and Bitcoin technology. It's almost like the ultimate simulation of running a major operation, but now that the IRS wants a piece of the action the simulation became much more real. With that said, if you think you might eventually go big you should keep detailed records from the start.
