This viewpoint is interesting. It is not exactly inaccurate, but it does appear to be missing a point. Soldering in itself is a valuable and useful skill, but I can't say you can just get in and start de-soldering willy-nilly as opposed to opening a box and upgrading ram by plopping stuff in a designated spot.
Do you know that "plopping stuff in a designated spot" can also be out of reach to some people? I know plenty who would give their computer to a tech do to the upgrade for them even if they are shown in person how to do all the steps. Soldering is just one step (albeit fairly big) above that.
But the fact this can be done at home with fairly inexpensive tools, means tech person with reasonable skill could do it, so such upgrade could be accessible in computer/phone repair shop if parts were available to do so.
Soldering is not a barrier - what I am trying to say.
What if both are an issue?