Steps at PartyPoker

Hi,

I couldn't find anything on the topic and now am wondering:

Q1) How lucrative are the steps?
Q2) What is a sound strategy?
Q3) How hard are the steps to beat?
Q4) Do lots of people buy-in at a high level?
Q5) What are the differences between minis, regular & high steps except the payoff and buy-ins of course?
Q6) Is there any benefit using the step-system in comparison to home made stepping (entering regular SnGs and using the wins for higher buy-ins)?

I think for beginners SnGs are way more better for the learning curve than MTTs.
I'm doing fairly well at SnGs, but suck at MTTs. So I figure the steps would be ideal for me, to 1. take a shot at high(er) SnGs levels and 2. getting used to MTT-like strategies.

Step strategies are much in line with SNG's and have relatively little value for MTT training. The advantage to steps is you don't bust if you finish less than 30% in the earlier levels as happens in the SNG's.

My own personal opinion is that steps can be great for weak/tight as you don't need the level of aggression on earlier steps that are required in SNG's. You do need to turn it up though when you get to the pay levels. I am not sure where you would put the skill level of a successful step player vs an SNG'er but I presume they would be very similar. Although the pay frequency is much less than it is for SNG's.