I learned to pack this past spring, moved to tandems relatively quickly, and used the money that I made from packing to pay for my tandem/AFF progression and the rest of my jumps for my A-license. Skydiving is expensive, and I never would have been able to afford to pay for it all without doing it that way. I'd recommend learing and going from there. You have to know how to pack a chute for your A card anyway.