Here's my very opinionated opinion. For a beginner, the pass is a bad idea. I did magic for almost 3 years without it and was just fine. Aaron Fisher has a video in his Card Magic Minute series on Youtube that convinced me that the overhand shuffle control is one of the best controls out there. I still use the pass regularly because I don't like shuffling the deck a lot, and with the way I perform the pass just works. For a beginner though, the pass is a lot to deal with.
People used to say that the pass was the the most important sleight in card magic, and for a while, it was, because that was the main method of controlling a card. Then we started using things like the overhand shuffle control and other sleights to control cards, and while the pass is still extremely important, it's not quite as important as it used to be. Jean Hugard, at the beginning of the chapter on the pass says this. (The pass is covered in chapter 12, after talking about the overhand shuffle control twice, the hindu shuffle control, and various other sleights.)
We have shown in the preceding pages that the pass is not absolutely essential to card conjuring and that any trick can be performed without using it. Any intelligent person who really has the urge to perform good tricks with cards, and to do just that in the shortest possible time and with the simplest possible methods, has been shown how it can be done. The methods which have been given are simple, but always in conjuring the simplest methods are the most effective. By mastering the simple, natural ways of making all necessary moves which we have given you, you will have made great progress in a surprisingly short time.
These are just a few things to consider. I hope this helps.