New to networking tips?

[EpiC BolT]

I am a High school senior and looking to getting into cyber security when going to college, I was going to take a Networking class in my High school but I needed to take Computer maintenance classes which I had not done (doing them now) I am also taking Visual Basic .NET programming class. Any tips on what I have to do or any good sites that will get me started with Networking? any tips will help a lot, THANKS!

[iistapp]

If you have the time and can afford it, try getting a bunch of certificates done in the genre you are looking to work for.

They are always good to have and are often available with books that you have to read on your own and try and fail and such, and when you feel you are ready, sign up for an exam.

At least in Norway, a lot of security businesses require specific certificates to apply in the first place, I don't think it is any different where you live to be honest. Even if it is, you will still be on top if you have the certificates and other people that apply doesn't, so it's a win win situation either way.

[DegreesKelvin]

Just a little heads up, I know a lot of people who point and laugh at people using Visual Basic. I suggest learning a language like C, C++, Ruby, Perl, Python, etc.

[Acidiferous]

Like iistapp. I would suggest taking a certificate or two. CCNA and maybe even a CCNP, it's very 'Cisco' but i think it will give you a good foundation. And you can get some hands on experiences with routers, switches, asa firewalls and so on.

Maybe you don't even have to take the expensive certificates, you can just buy the books and use ciscos network visualizer.

As for VB .net i think it's fine for a 'beginner'. As long as it's .net and not 6 Then you can allwayes change pretty painless to c#, if you find it interesting. And if you manage to 'master' those two, you should have the mindset to learn other languages.

But then again, when you are that young and maybe not 100% sure what you want to work with. I would say, just mess around with as mutch as possible, and figure out what you really want to do. But it sounds like you are allready trying to do that