I'm almost at my 20-year mark in IT. I come from the Win 98/2000/NT4 era. One of the most important aspects of me becoming who I am today in the IT field is having a home lab for me to build, tear down, break, fix, and just play around with stuff in. I've experimented in a lot, which is what a home lab is supposed to be. It's helped me excel in my career because a lot of "higher ranked" people don't know the technical stuff like I do which is what's helped me get promoted quickly. I'm not saying I'm chasing that, only going after what I am worth. Home labs are the absolute best investment anyone in IT could make for themselves.