More and more airdrop is a lie, I do not recommend participation in airdrop, because there are at most a few 100 airdrop quality, so I think it should not be a waste of time.
Looking at the date of this, I think some things never change. You are completely right about it, there is no sense to take part in Airdrops because most of them won't pay even a penny. I think the only way to earn in crypto without investing your money is bounty campaigns, but still you need to choose very carefully if you want to get paid.