I got my first one in 1980 (Bounty Hunter) and had a ball with it. I didn't mind digging up every signal because that's how you learn your machine and targets. After a while I could tell from the tone if the target was junk or silver. I was in Hawaii and chose to hit school yards rather than the beach (too much competition there). I found plenty of Mercury dimes, silver quarters, and wheats. My best find was in Ohio ... found an 1827 Capped Bust Half dollar under the root of a very old oak.
I purchased a White's DFX in 2008 because it was programmable.
There are two keys to enjoyment with a metal detector: Knowing your machine and doing research on potential hunt sites. It can get very frustrating hitting the parks and playgrounds that everyone else has hit and digging every target that rings up on the machine. The more enjoyable and successful hunts come when you are in tune with the machine and dig up those treasures that others have missed.
Final recommendation would be to see if there are others in your area that are willing to hunt with you. Some of those more experienced guys can definitely shorten the learning process.
^^^^ This, plus what rockinbbar said about getting out what you put in. A set of head phones works a lot better for listening to tones to learn the difference in junk.
I've wasted a lot of time having a lot of fun with a Whites 6000 DI (and a bunch of other stuff as well). I've also gone in behind guys who were dead serious treasure hunters and told me they had cleaned a park out. I came back later and found silver they missed.
At a city park in New Braunfels, Texas I found a Minié ball near a berm at the edge of the park. Walked up a trial on the berm and found a few more, some actually visible laying in the trail. Later I learned that the area was a muster point during the Civil War, and the volunteers would target practice against the berm while waiting to head up. While little if any monetary value, that was one of my most rewarding finds.
Put some effort into it and it will be rewarding.
