What is the best way to teach yourself networking? What other knowledge is important for starting out in IT...

What is the best way to teach yourself networking? What other knowledge is important for starting out in IT? Just finished my AA but feel like I still am not prepared. Should I study for some certs or something?

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Reed the books, take (free) online tests to see if you have absorbed any of it, repeat until good enough.

So I should go for the cert?

No idea, I'm a NEET. Better wait for someone who knows what they're talking about.
[smiley with a carat nose]

...

There is no future in IT.

Find a new career.

The only useful network certificate is CCNA. Anything else is pajeet tier

>CompTIA

Just take the fucking CCNA and make it at least look like you're not a total moron.

AA?
Anyway, how much networking do you know?
If you know absolutely nothing, I'd work through Jeremy Cioara's CCNA videos.
After watching all of them, I'd pick up Todd Lammle's CCNA book. Read the entire thing.
After you finish reading it, get TCP/IP vol 2 by Jeff Doyle. Yes, it's a CCIE book, no I don't expect you to read the entire thing. Read chapters 1 - 4 in section 1. The entire section is called "routing basics"
If you want to read the rest of the book, knock yourself out. It'll make the exam a lot easier
Also, before writing the CCNA exam, no matter what version you write (2 parts or 1), make sure you're really, really fucking good at subnetting. You have to be able to do it in your head to have any chance of passing.
Oh, and when you read the books and watch the videos, make sure you're actually taking notes. Just watching/reading the videos once isn't going to be enough. Take notes and review them

Okay, so that covers the book knowledge, but now what about labs?
You can pirate some cisco lab books. Go over each lab a few times. If you're feeling really autistic go do the labs on GNS3 vault.
Speaking of GNS3, use GNS3. It's not hard to find ios images.
Packet Tracer is complete shit. The only reason you should ever use packet tracer is if an instructor is forcing you to use it for an assignment.
If you don't have the space/money, you can get away with buying no physical equipment for your home lab. Switching is the only thing GNS3 is weak in, and GNS3's switching features are petty good these days.
Last time I checked the only missing features were private VLANs and layer 3 etherchannel
And lastly, install GNU/Linux. GNS3 on Windows is really poorly optimized.

Skip Net+ completely. It's useless


t. CCNP NEET

And if you want to go for your CCNP, I'd add in Pearson's tutorial videos to your list of materials to go through.
At the CCNP level, CBT nuggets isn't in depth enough, unless they're dedicating an entire series to one specific topic, like their BGP videos.