Start with the hakko 888 or the weller equivalent. Learn how to solder big stuff first like tinning wires without burning up the insulation, big through hole joints according to the nasa guidelines, bell splices etc. it’s easier to see and judge how things are going with big stuff because you can see it better.

Use different tips to see what they do.

Remember that soldering is just brazing. You’re joining two metals by introducing a third.

Don’t start with a project you want to finish, just join a bunch of junk together, pull parts you don’t care about from old circuit boards and put different parts in their place.

Make little sculptures out of your trash.

Cheat with different kinds of flux till you don’t need to anymore.

Do the same things with smd parts.

It takes a long time to get good at soldering and no matter what anyone says you can’t just jump past the iron to hot air.

I mean, it’s possible. You’ll just never be able to fix mistakes or bridges you make with the hot air.