This is always my main caution to people self-funding AAT studies - you need the practical experience too. So many colleges offer AAT because it's a cash cow as AAT does not have any practical experience requirements to qualify which means anybody with dreams of becoming an accountant can book onto it if they have the funds - but the lack of practical experience requirements is what makes it more challenging to convert into an actual job. There is a risk that if you get too far into the exams without any experience you become less appealing to employers.
Therefore my personal view is that it is a mistake to progress too far self-funding any accountancy qualification without practical experience. It is completely normal in accountancy to take on trainees with no experience and train them up so employers aren't expecting new entrants to arrive with qualifications. However the training model is based on putting people through a qualification with relevant workplace experience and supervision alongside. It's more difficult to take on someone who's part qualified in exams but has zero experience.
What is your ultimate goal? Do you want to work in practice or industry? How far do you want to be able to progress?
The AAT is a perfectly respectable technician qualification but you will need to do further qualifications and obtain practical experience to become a chartered or certified accountant. There are more training posts in practice than industry, and better training support structures in practice, but you could move into industry post-qualification (or stay in practice if you like it).
In terms of training pathways in practice, it tends to be that school leavers are put through AAT first then either ACA or ACCA whereas graduates go straight onto ACA/ACCA. That is more about giving much younger staff time to adjust to the workplace and exam requirements, as well as to be secure in their knowledge and career choice before going into the chartered exams.
For context, I am ACCA qualified and took up a training post after leaving school. As it happens I also looked at the AAT route originally because I didn't know much about how to get into the field and it seemed like an "easy" pathway (in the sense that it was clearly structured and I could just book the courses without needing experience or applications). Once I did more research and learned that AAT was only a technician qualification, I focused on finding a training post instead and went straight into ACCA. I have worked in practice for a couple of decades and supported many trainees, including some career changers who had done an initial few exams to prove their ability before applying.