[pzhon]

SNGs are a great way to start. In fact, I recommend playing SNGs to my poker students before they play NL ring games. Small tournaments can be quite profitable later, too; some professional players play SNGs almost exclusively.

One drawback is that it is much more complicated to learn how to play well in the early stages of a SNG than it is to learn how to beat microlimit games. You can beat microlimit games with little more than preflop selection, and the idea of value-betting top pair or better. It's much more complicated to play well postflop in a NL setting when the pot is small in relation to the stacks. In fact, many people who post in the One Table Tournament forum seem to have given up on outplaying their opponents when the blinds are small.

Both ring games and SNGs are reasonable places to learn. Both are fun, and both are profitable.