Thanks for this post. This is indeed a helpful topic for those who would like to get into playing electric guitar. @makitheneko is right, first you gotta choose which style of electric guitar first, will it be a stratocaster (fender)? Or a les paul (gibson)? Next would be to choose whether to get the expensive one (fender/gibson) or the affordable one (squier/epiphone).

I myself have both the fender and the squier in possession right now, but I couldn't quite compare both as they're not apples to apples so to speak. My Fender is a '62 vintage reissue while the Squier is a Deluxe model which is somehow a modern take on the vintage strat with its 22 fretted fingerboard and modern bridge and tuners that seem to stay in tune pretty well. Now @makitheneko is right, both play very well, but neither of these guitars will improve my guitar playing unless I practice really hard.

My advice, work on your budget limit, try and test a lot of guitars before making the purchase. Don't let the guitar brand limit your quest in becoming a good musician. Practice a lot. Sooner or later the rewards will come and you'll eventually get your dream guitar :-) cheers!