What is the better camera to get?

I'm looking into getting my first "professional" camera and I'm not sure what one is better. The Nikon D3000 or the Canon Rebel t3i? In general, is nikon or canon a better camera? I'm going to be using it for photography not so much videos. Any opinions and such would be helpful.

Neither is remotely professional, but either is a useful piece of kit.

The only way to find out which is better is to pick them up.