I'm an insurance actuary; it took me 8 years of home study to be fully
accredited. The IFR written was a lot easier.

I just got my rating last year, and find that routine IFR is no big
deal, but proficiency is another story - the process of doing 3
approaches in rapid succession with successive holds and route
intersections typical of what you do for the practical exam requires a
level of concentration which in my life compares only with high-level
musical performance (I'm a singer in my spare time).