When I started soldering everything was big and had leads that went through holes in the board. You inserted the leads, bent them over to hold the component, flipped the board over, soldered everything, and trimmed off the excess leads.
Now I’m soldering things down to 0402 SMDs (1/4 the size of the smallest component in the picture) using a needle point soldering tip and a microscope.
A pair of 2N2222 transistors, one SOT23 and one TO-92.
What I’m saying is that it’s possible for beginners with basic equipment to begin to work with SMDs. Sure, you can order THT components and build all THT boards but the people that I talk to want to use modern components and modern techniques so that they boards don’t look quite so…1970s.
SMDs have made things more challenging but with basic equipment and knowledge it is doable.