BurstarYeah, nah mate. I'm already 2 Elite ranks in to explorer while doing this Exo BS. I don't think you appreciate how much work is involved. Almost 600 turn ins, x3 separated samples per + having to search and land. Exploration is WAY easier to do, and much more profitable. That said I'm sure the combat grind is on par or worse.
I suppose I am comparing it to exploration from back in the days when you had to fly within a certain distance of any body in order to scan it. Now it's much easier with the FSS/DSS. I did about half of mine the old way...