I've had my nose peirced for about seven years now. I got mine done professionally, with a needle. It didn't hurt too badly, although the sensation of having a needle pushed through my nostril was admittedly temporarily unpleasant, lol.
I started with a screw (which is almost definitely better than a stud for a starting piercing), and it was in an ugly color because you are going to want surgical steel in while it heals, NOT silver. (I have upgraded to studs since then.) It took me awhile to get used to putting in/taking out the nose screws; by the time my nose was healed enough for studs they were less fo an adjustment, but the downside is that studs fall out easier. (The downside of screws is that they're hard to find nowadays!) Nose screws would definitely be less ostentatious than hoops- the job I'm at now has a relatively conservative dress code and they don't mind the little stud I usually wear in. I think it might be about the most "conservative" facial piercing it's possible to get.
I guess aftercare instructions have changed and change continually, but whatever they are, FOLLOW THEM. In my day (yougin'), you had to do a salt soak once or twice a day (I forget which), and wash regularly with gentle antibacterial soap. I'm pretty sure things haven't changed enough that you'll escape the joyful experience of sitting with your nose in a cup of warm salt water (blowing bubbles and wondering why you thought this was a good idea) every day for over a month. I think it was ultimately worth it, personally.
