>>944767 (OP)
Generally, when you start learning networking you start with a vendor's books on the subject, the most common being Cisco, and work your way through the certifications. Alcatel-Lucent (now Nokia) has the NRS tract and Juniper has the CCENT tract. Having worked as a network enginner for 4 years at a major ISP I can tell you that's there's no substitude for real field experience though. There's a lot you'll never read in a book. It's a shame you don't like the subject because it's actually pretty fascinating, particularly the optical side of it. But this is a good starting point for a book:
https://www.amazon.com/CCENT-ICND1-100-105-Official-Guide/dp/1587205807/ref=lp_379347011_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532104662&sr=8-1
Cisco's literature gives you a lot of perhaps unnecessary historical information on certain things and thier exams contain questions on obsolete topics no one cares about anymore. But my job concerned mostly Alcatel/Juniper boxes.
You should probably start with network topologies, what routers and switches actually do, why networks are built the way they are, and then move on to protocols/OSI layers from there. Learn about OSPF, ISIS, BGP, MPLS. Real network enginnering really only involves layers 1 through 4. You could even buy a cheap, old Cisco switch and router off ebay and make a small lab.