I've been studying Arabic (MSA) full time for over a year now and this article is on point. The difficulty is not insurmountable though, it just takes time and

I've been studying Arabic (MSA) full time for over a year now and this article is on point. The difficulty is not insurmountable though, it just takes time and the right teachers. It is not something I would recommend trying to learn by yourself. As for the dialects problem, yes it's true that MSA is not used for everyday communication. However, you need to think about what your goals are. MSA is the best thing to learn for most non-arabs. The reason is that you'll be able to go to any Arab country and find people in a major city who understand MSA. More or less, unless someone doesn't watch the news, they know MSA. Pretty much all news is in MSA. Even cab drivers will know plenty of MSA, for the most part. Most of the time, people are surprised and happy to see you've bothered to learn their language. It is an excellent confidence booster when a native tells you that you speak their language well. If you ever decide you have a compelling reason to learn a dialect, pursue it at that point. You can always learn a little bit of vocabulary to bolster your skills if you're planning a trip to a certain country.