It's not a matter of rigor, but rather a matter of doing it for fun on your spare time vs doing it 40 hours a week.
It might very well kill the fun out of it.
Disclaimer: I've never done educational park activities.
My reading was that if there's any regret about choosing professional SE, one should be careful not to think something else would be better for a reason similar to that the choosing SE.
I'm not a software engineer. I also didn't say I regret it, I do plan on retiring to something where I can work outside.