My own server
An HP ProLiant rack server (2× Xeon, 256 GB RAM, 2× RTX 3060) running Ubuntu Server 24.04. Services run isolated in Docker and rootless Podman, secured behind Cloudflare Zero Trust with one-time login codes.
Looking for an apprenticeship
I'm Nick: from IT helpdesk and enterprise servers to practical automation.
A year of helpdesk experience at Curio IT, and I run my own server lab on the side. I study ICT System Engineering (level 4) and am looking for an immediate four-day apprenticeship where I can pull my weight from day one.
What I'm looking for
- Position
- Dutch BBL apprenticeship, employed, available immediately
- Working days
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday — Wednesday is a school day
- Area
- Roosendaal, Etten-Leur, Breda and Bergen op Zoom
- Travel
- Public transport and bicycle
- Studies
- ICT System Engineering level 4, graduating in 2027
- Also
- Available for evening work and on-call duty
My home lab: enterprise hardware, monitoring, and isolated sandboxes
Not a showroom, but an active learning environment. Everything below is managed, configured, and recovered by me — from firmware and hypervisors to automated backups.
Monitoring and backups
Uptime monitoring with instant push alerts, central logging, and nightly backups that are restored into a temporary test volume every week to prove they work.
A home AI workspace
Language models on my own hardware, with a knowledge base that answers from my own documents. That is how I learn where these systems break.
An isolated practice lab
Isolated KVM labs for security and systems administration: Kali/Parrot VMs for defensive security audits, and a Windows Server test domain (Active Directory, GPO, DNS, CA) for practical coursework.
Where I've worked
2025 – 2026
Helpdesk technician (apprentice) — Curio IT
Tickets on accounts, laptops, printers, networking and Microsoft 365: take them in, work them out, resolve and document. Assembled and rolled out workstations over the summer.
2023 – 2024
IT helpdesk (placement) — Munnikenheidecollege
Placement during my level 2 studies. Helped students and teachers with laptops, accounts and software, and prepared devices for classroom use.
2019 – 2023
Store assistant — PLUS
Four years alongside a full school week, fixed evening and weekend shifts.
How I work
- I don't let go of a fault until I know why it happened.
- I explain technology without jargon, even to people who know nothing about it.
- I stay calm when ten tickets come in at once.
- I say so honestly when I don't know something, then go find out.
Looking for a dedicated apprentice systems engineer for 4 days a week?
Let's connect. Even if a position only opens up in a few months, I'm glad to get in touch early.