I suggest you learn the common attack methods of hackers first, or you can try to attack your simulated network machine. Only when you are aware of the attack can you figure out the hacker's attack means and methods. Therefore, the attack programs and methods written by hackers are your best teaching materials. Moreover, not all hackers are clamoring for help. Similarly, a considerable number of people in the hacker industry are engaged in information security, which is the legendary "honker". Most of them start with hackers, because they know more about hackers' attack methods and know ourselves and ourselves.
All I can learn at school is theory and basic knowledge. If I want to be a senior security expert like Ed Scuddeus, I still have to explore in practice. There is no absolutely safe lock, and there is no absolutely safe program in the computer. As long as you can find the loopholes in these programs, you can become a hacker who attacks this program, or you can tell the designer about this loophole, so you will get more than just a reward.
Moral quality, procedural understanding, logical judgment, spatial imagination, patience and tenacity, and physical fitness all restrict whether you can become an excellent hacker or honker.
To be an excellent network security expert, you also need to have skills: basic knowledge of network (including building, routing, equipment assembly, network architecture, etc. ), information security knowledge (encryption, decryption, etc. ), basic knowledge of programs (higher requirements for assembly and disassembly languages in the later stage), access control (including local area network or remote) and social relations, which are often overlooked but play an important role in security control. In a word, the quality of an excellent safety controller is quite high.
If you have such perseverance and willpower, I wish you success.