For hobbyist purposes, ceramic nozzles work just fine. They may wear out fast if you're doing commercial production work, but for hobby scale jobs they last a long time. A new sand blaster will usually come with a couple of spares, and you can buy replacements at Menards for under $5 for a package of three. If you wear out more than $10 worth of ceramic nozzles, *then* you might consider buying a carbide nozzle, but on a hobby scale that will take a loooong time.
Hemi-T