Does it make sense for me to individually pick stocks or to just invest in funds?

It really depends on you. If you have a large enough capital and you are hardworking enough to research on individual stocks, then it makes sense to pick stocks.

If your capital is small and you do not have much time to do research, then funds would make more sense.

This question very much depends on your risk appetite and how much effort you want to put into learning to invest. If you can take some risk and are willing to put in the effort to learning, active stock picking might be for you.

If not, it is best to stick to exchange traded funds.