Welcome to the communities.
My advice in these cases is always to try to focus your studies on the items you know gave you trouble. The questions that stumped you or didn't make sense should be fresh in your mind. Try to write down everything you can remember and go from there in your next round of study.
The points Scott make above are very true - and I think that the lab/software is the key to getting the hands-on experience you will need. I tried to include lots of labs in my book, to ensure the hands-on component would be addressed.
Best of luck in your next attempt!