Working with SMD parts is not as hard as it seems. I'm no expert, but have taught myself to remove and replace SMD
parts, even large QFPs.
Good tools help, but I'm noticing that you don't really need
a lot of expensive stuff. The main thing you need is a good
temperature regulated soldering iron. The higher wattage ones
work best. Then you need the finest gague solder you can
get, liquid flux, solder braid, fine stainless wire, two or three
sizes of precision tweezers, and a set of solder probes or
dental picks. And it sure helped my confidence to have a
good heat gun with a reducing nozzle. Even though I think
it overheats the active components, you can use it for
preheating the board and you can get anything off the
board, although you risk destroying the parts in the process.
You will find that as soon as you start practicing, working
with SMD parts gets less mysterious. Start on boards you
salvage from broken appliances, which you can get from the
Salvation Army or the trash or your own broken computer
peripherals. I took apart a dead HP laser printer and an old cell phone to get started.
Have fun! Keith