And of course there should be a balance between mining difficulty and reward. I see the whole thing more as a PoC to learn more about crypto. About the needs and problems of a miner. But my minimum goal is to get my money for the rig and power cost back in around 12-18 months.
I am a simple miner with simple rules on detecting scams:
1) Is it premined? If Yes, it is a scam
2) Can it be mined? If no, it is a scam
3) Is it an exact copy of another coin? If Yes, it is a scam
4) Is it centralized? If Yes, it is a scam
The shitcoins and scams usually (from my experience) falls under those 4 points. If it is not the case on all 4, I believe you can hold it and it will increase in price.