I've been growing in soil since I started growing several years ago, and while I've definitely made some mistakes along the way, I also learned from them. That's vital, regardless of which style you go with. It's more a matter of what you're comfortable with... some people prefer the automation of hydroponic setups, while others prefer to spend more one-on-one time with their soil-grown plants. IMHO soil is much more forgiving than hydro; you can make simple mistakes in soil and not suffer as much as you probably would if the same mistakes were made in a complicated hydro system. Major mistakes are practically guaranteed to ruin a hydro crop in hours (or less), while you'll usually have some buffer-time to flush, transplant, etc., soil plants, possibly saving them.

Again, just my personal preference, but I've been growing for years and just the thought of all the intricacies and methodology of hydro grows still intimidates the hell out of me... :what: