The journey of earning crypto for free isn't as easy at it sounds, especially for beginners. It requires dedication and consistency in whatever can bring a little. I sometimes don't really call it a free money, because they require us to perform certain tasks, and these tasks are time consuming. From experience, doing some of this tasks raise heavy doubt if what we are doing actually worth it, but later end up realizing its worth when little profits starts coming in. Airdrop happens to be a very popular way of earning crypto, as there are lots of projects joining the crypto market on a weekly basis.
I also started the whole crypto stuff for free. I think the quality of information I got over time, especially from friends around me, gave me a better experience.
And again, from what I noticed, i think those who go into crypto with some kind of funding or investment, often get themselves established in a short period, compared to those that started from scratch or for free.