It’s an incredibly rewarding skill to learn, but in my experience a hot air station is just as, if not more useful than a good soldering iron. For tiny components hot air and a pair of tweezers is far easier for me, plus it opens up being able to swap ICs of various kinds to expand your skill set further. I also occasionally use mine combined with a really small iron tip to remove solder from stubborn through-holes.

However, keep in mind that soldering is only half of the skill. The other half is electronics troubleshooting, so taking the time to learn about that will absolutely be worth your time. Poking around with a multimeter to find a hidden short rather than just relying on a visual inspection can mean the difference between wasted time and a successful repair. Being able to measure voltages and currents to verify that a circuit is doing what it’s supposed to be doing is essential.