3D Studio Max is much harder. Damn 3d programs really aint a joke, but if you want to hit up Max, make sure to get yourself a copy of Maya 4.0 Unlimited also. Maya is the industry standard at the moment - there are a lot of other ones but in my opinion Alias/Wavefront has the market right now. Its a LIL harder than Max, but does everything (EXCEPT for a few things, buildings, uhh some objects... etc) better.
I might be able to hook you up. It costs too much to buy a license for :/