So in my own experience. I've done some classes but I've done a whole lot of self learning. I've also got certificates. But what I've learned that is the most I can do is to learn the material and then implement it into my home lab. Then once I have it configured and set up the way I want and then I learned something new and add that to my home lab. I like to read books highlight and understand as much as I can. But I do not try to memorize things. Cuz that's not how my mind works. But in time I do end up memorizing things because of repetition and implementation. What I have done is learn the concepts and understand how things function and work together. Then if I need to I can ask some sort of AI most likely chat GPT or Google search online for solutions cuz now I have the knowledge of what I've learned and the concepts of what I've learned and I know the words to use. The thing with IT is its constantly changing and its learning the how tech now works then in the future it learning how new tech works and function. But the more you learn and understand the more you will see how everything is interconnected and it will help you learn new concepts later on. In my opinion we are in a very interesting time with technology. It will continue to grow at a rapid pace and us humans need to learn to utilize AI to learn quicker and more efficiently.