Thank you for your answer, it does provide some important points as to where to get hands on skills.
Sadly I'm studying in Canada as an international student, picked a college because of the "practical" labs, which nothing has been further from the truth. I have spent over 30k in this fucking scam of a college for things that are half ass explained and where I shit you not, a teacher literally give as YouTube videos instead of explaining.
I could have gotten a SANS certification for 9k instead of blowing my savings. Ohhh well.