Tips on soldering stations

Get a soldering station with active tips, meaning the heating element is in the tip. Even the top brands such as Hakko and Weller use passive tips on their low-end models. The tips are cheaper, but the soldering temperature is just not as consistent as the ones with active tips. Better to choose new technology on Chinese stations than old technology on a top brand. Top brands will probably last you longer, but your soldering jobs will be better with an active tip. I own a pretty expensive JBC station, but Hakko offers more affordable stations with the same technology (The FX-951 for example). The FX-888D is an example of old technology from a top brand. Not the best choice in my opinion.

Note that Hakko stations are copied a lot, the internet is full of fake Hakko FX-951 stations. You can tell by the incredibly low prices. Check some YouTube review video's on those, the quality is not necessarily too bad. A good choice for a small budget until you can afford the real thing.

You should also check if you can swap the iron for a smaller one or even soldering tweezers, this way you dont need a whole new station if you need hot tweezers.