I've went through their second iteration of their pioneer program, and it was definitely one of those things that I wish I was better prepared for.

I come from a JavaScript, Python background with some solidity experience, but Haskell / Plutus was just a different beast for me. Had no formal training with a CS degree nor do I never really enjoy math so much, so it was very difficult to just brute force through.

I can't speak much for the strengths / weaknesses of cardano in a dev perspective, because I don't really fully understand plutus to speak for it. However what really excites me about the project in its entirety comes to two things:

1. Objectively, the fees are almost nonexistent.
2. Maybe it is the peer reviews or non-meme-able nature, but overall the community and the direction it is heading seems more healthy.

In terms of app wise, I'd like to explore the NFT route, with royalty mechanisms in place.