You're correct that some soldering irons (especially uber-cheap ones) are shit, but Pinecil proves cheap can also be good. Past a certain point, soldering becomes a hobby about how dangerous you're willing to get to make things easier on yourself. You can swap out non-toxic solder for lead trace if you want a cleaner board; then there are high-wattage irons, board reflow/fluxing, and even all sorts of scale-specific hacks.
When you zoom out, I think home soldering is about as effective as it can reasonably get without fumigating your house.
When you zoom out, I think home soldering is about as effective as it can reasonably get without fumigating your house.