Available for hire — IT Support / Junior Sysadmin
Jacob
Hernandez
Self-studying for CompTIA A+. Running an active homelab with Windows Server 2022, pfSense, and Active Directory. Looking for my first IT role where I can do real work from day one.
Systems · Networks · Security
01 — About
I decided I wanted to work in IT — so I built a lab and started learning. No bootcamp. No classroom. Just hands-on work until things made sense.
CompTIA A+ Core 1 complete, Core 2 in progress. Active homelab running Windows Server 2022, Active Directory, and pfSense. Targeting IT support and junior sysadmin — anywhere I can do real troubleshooting from day one.
Targeting
IT Support · Helpdesk · Junior Sysadmin
Location
United States — open to remote
Status
Actively interviewing
02 — The Path
Early 2025
First Hardware Build
Rebuilt a donated desktop from spare parts. Diagnosed a failed PSU with a multimeter, swapped the capacitor-blown board, and had it posting within a weekend. First time I understood what was actually inside the box.
Mid 2025
First Homelab
Stood up VirtualBox on that machine with Ubuntu Server as a guest. Spent two weeks breaking and rebuilding the same install — networking kept dropping, turned out to be a bridged adapter misconfiguration. Fixed it, documented it, moved on.
Late 2025
Active Directory Environment
Deployed Windows Server 2022 in the lab, built OUs, wrote PowerShell scripts to bulk-provision 50 test users, and configured Group Policy. Debugging GPO scope taught me more about AD than any course would have.
Early 2026
pfSense + VLAN Segmentation
Segmented the lab into 3 VLANs — management, servers, and a guest/IoT zone. Built firewall rules to enforce the separation and ran Wireshark captures to verify traffic wasn't leaking. Found one rule gap I hadn't accounted for.
Now
CompTIA A+ Core 1 Complete
Core 1 done. Core 2 in progress — exam scheduled. Network+ queued after that. The lab runs what I study. Nothing stays theoretical for long.
03 — Tools & Skills
Operating Systems
Networking
Tools
Security
04 — Certifications
CompTIA A+
Hardware, OS, networking basics, troubleshooting, and IT operational procedures.
Core 1 complete — Core 2 in progress · 50%
CompTIA Network+
Network infrastructure, operations, security, and troubleshooting.
CompTIA Security+
Cybersecurity fundamentals, threats, vulnerabilities, and risk management.
05 — Lab Work
Home Lab
ACTIVELocal virtualization environment running continuously for 8+ months. Hosts my AD domain, a pfSense router, and multiple Linux servers. Has survived two power outages, a VMDK corruption, and a failed NIC swap.
What I learned
RAM starvation on the host caused guest OS instability I initially blamed on software. Traced it with Task Manager, reallocated memory across VMs. VMDK corruption after a hard shutdown taught me to set up snapshot hygiene before experimenting.
Active Directory Lab
COMPLETEDeployed a domain with multiple OUs, Group Policy Objects, and a PowerShell script to bulk-provision 50 test users with enforced password policies and folder redirection.
What I learned
GPO scope cascades in ways that are easy to get wrong. Spent an afternoon debugging why a policy was applying to the wrong OU — turned out a parent-level GPO had a conflicting setting I didn't notice. Now I document every GPO I create with a comment block in the description field.
Network Monitoring
ACTIVEPacket capture and traffic analysis on the homelab network. Built firewall rules to segment VLANs and ran captures to verify traffic wasn't crossing zone boundaries.
What I learned
Wireshark made protocols concrete in a way that no textbook managed. DNS lookups, TCP handshakes, ARP requests — watching them live changed how I think about troubleshooting. Also found two IoT devices making outbound calls to vendor servers I hadn't authorized. Blocked them.
06 — Contact
I'm targeting IT support, helpdesk, and junior sysadmin roles — anywhere I can spend the first year doing real troubleshooting alongside people who know more than I do.
I show up prepared, I document everything, and I don't close a ticket until the fix actually holds. If that's the kind of person you're looking for, let's talk.