Is it worth buying connects in upwork

Hey I want to make money like all you folks and downloaded upwork months ago, but never bought the connects. Common on, I wanted to work to get money, it's asking money to just even connect. But I saw the work which perfectly suits me but because I don't have connects, so I am unable to apply. I just want to know if it is worth it, to spend 100 dollars to buy the connects and apply, 100 dollars is 33 percent of my salary, it's huge for me.

By the way I am an embedded systems and AI engineer, kind of into the booming industry. Coming back to the question, is it worth spending money on upwork or any alternative buddies....