Computer systems Networking & telecommunciations

[Reason7194]

Hello everyone, my future major ( hopefully ) will be in Computer Systems networking and telecommunications. I love programming, i don't however have much experience in the networking field. I was wondering if someone from HTS could point me in the right direction on where i could go to get more aquainted with this subject before i officially set this as my major.

[Dwere134]

First off: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Networking+and+Telecommunications
Next, you speak of "hopefully major" which implies to me that you are either an early college student, or in highschool, considering college/career paths.
So, first thing's first. If in highschool, take a Computer Technology course if they're offered there. That should at least start you off, get the basics down. For me, I was able to take one computer tech class at my highschool senior year, and get 15 college credits (3 classes essentially) out of my way for College this year through a program called Tech-Prep. Look into anything like that.

Obviously, networking has to be done securely, so you're at the right place to at least gain a few resources as far as security goes. I don't pretend to be an expert at all, but I'm studying in college to obtain a AAAS in Informatics in Networking, and on the way to that degree (2 year degree) hope to pick up my CCNA, and perhaps some A+ certs as well.
Currently I'm in my 3rd A+ geared class, haven't taken an exam yet though.

Anyway, as far as other resources go, try grabbing a Cisco book from a teacher, or at a library, or bookstore, borrow or buy. Read up on some of that.
Hands on stuff? Get yourself an old router or modem and take it apart.
Grab some old piece of shit computers and network them together in your own Local Area Network. See what kind of fun you can have.
Personally I'm really into security, so when I and friends do that, my first priority is "okay now let's infect these things with every virus we can and see if we can eradicate them." etc. My friends think I'm nuts and get really scared about "downloading" viruses intentionally for that purpose.
But no seriously, you can do all manners of things to increase your knowledge/experience, and see if you have an aptitude for it. Education, experimentation, etc. etc.

[Reason7194]

Wow, thanks for the detailed reply. I am a high school student. I attend a collegiate school for juniors and seniors and i dont have any room for a tech class. I am learning on my own and have obtained an old router, im buying the power supply for it saturday, learning some additional java to test out network sockets. I am really torn between choosing the computer programmer, computer science and computer systems networking & telecommunications major.

I love programming, i also am really into security. No i am not one of those script kiddies who are looking for the next program to hack facebook or something, I am really into how computers work, how websites work, how networks work. How it all works haha.

I am building my own website which i plus for computer programming. Maybe i can find something w/ networking to tie in my website. Ideas?

Also, can anyone give me an idea on a project once i set up my LAN with my 2 old computers? I'm not to sure if im ready to handle the viruses though. I just trust avg and ccleaner

Thanks for the info, it helped alot

[Fatal Intuiti0n]

well if you want programing just remember it is a GRIND, i am personally reciving my associates in computer and network security next semester then will peruse a bachelors, and i wouldnt trust avg and cc cleaner alone, you want a heuristics scanner such as MBAM (malware bytes) to find weird behavior, a keylogger, for example as it is a commonly used commonly skiddy tool. is basically a program that you can not see with a text box that stores your text via keyboard hooks, a connection to a ftp or email server and a built in timer that tells it when to connect to said server and send the stored text, and can be combined with process killers, that search your running tasks for any on the list then ends them. and these programs source code can be continually modified, or the servers made by it crypted to make it undetectable by anti virus until after it has been reported. the best way to combat any malware is to understand how it works. in any case for a project i would set up a server on one box, you can install windows server 2k8 and use the command slmgr -rearm multiple times to give it a non registered life of 240 days, back it up and reinstall it again restarting the process, then just play around with the server, setting it up, securing it, and using the other machine to try and take it down. again the best way to understand how to be secure is how to exploit the unsecure, as a network admin you will be tasked with securing god knows how many machines, as an attacker it only takes a single vulnerability to get in and send all that work tumbling down. i would also suggest you get to know virtualization well, as this is a major selling point in the industry as of now as it reduces company's overhead if you end up with a career in networking.

[msbachman]

I'd advise learning on your own and opting for experience in some sort of internship or full time job in lieu of going to college.

Unless you have some special reason why you're incapable of learning outside of a classroom, that is; in which case, you shouldn't be in IT anyways.

Heed my advice, save yourself 4-5 years of worthless schooling and tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

[insomaniacal]

Also, can anyone give me an idea on a project once i set up my LAN with my 2 old computers? I'm not to sure if im ready to handle the viruses though. I just trust avg and ccleaner

Fatal's idea was fairly good. Set up a server and try to take it down, or better yet, get admin access on it. You could also download a Linux distro that's made just for this, DVL (Damn Vulnerable Linux). Essentially, it's the most exploitable Linux distro out there, and meant specifically for hacking into.

Good luck!