Reply to Beginner DJ, few questions

Hi, hope everyone's having a good day and positive vibes throughout the coming week!

I've just received a budget to buy my first mixing gear , and I've just got a few questions as I'm a bit lost on how I should proceed.

My budget is around 500-600, and my original plan was to buy a midi controller and headphones:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=new - the controller

http://www.juno.co.uk/products/299532-01.htm - the headphones

My concern is that, is it worth getting a midi controller instead of a CDJ? From what I've gathered, CDJ provides a more suitable "clubbing" environment, and it's the real deal, rather then a midi controller connected to a laptop. It also seems like midi controllers are somewhat limited? In terms of progression, it seems like midi controllers are only useful to learn the basics, not to progress onto bigger gigs and events.

I'm not looking to DJ/produce as a hobby, I'm looking to progress as far as I can as I simply love music.

What are the essential gear s required for Djing? Aside from speakers and mics, only speaking in terms of the core software required.

I've heard that clubs don't generally accept a DJ that uses a controller, is this true? If so, are most clubs expecting a CDJ?

Basically my question is;

I really don't want to spend 500 dollars on an gear which is only suitable for learning the basics, I'm looking to buy gear which is suitable for gigs and bigger events, that I can progress with it in a long term basis.


I'm just so ecstatic and excited to start learning and dedicate the majority of my time for this beautiful art Any help would be much appreciated!