There are a few things that point to mining becoming more profitable in the near future, but there is also the impending bubble burst as well so... still a risky choice as it ever was. Easy to get burned by hardware vendors.

Buying, while not nearly as "cool", is much simpler and requires less additional time investment. Do some research, make some buys, check back in a few months and you're good. If you start mining, you'll constantly be obsessed with hashrate, payouts, and efficiency. That's a higher cost.