I’m Marián, from Trenčín, Slovakia. I’m working my way into IT, aiming for a first role in IT support: helpdesk, service desk, or L1 technician.
Where I’m coming from
I didn’t start in IT. For six years (11/2017 – 12/2023) I worked as a technician at Dent-Art s.r.o., setting up and running CNC machines through a CAD/CAM system, troubleshooting equipment, and working with customers and colleagues on technical requirements. Since 05/2026 I’ve been a production machine operator at AAF International in Trenčín, running and tuning equipment that makes HEPA filters.
A lot of that carries over to support work:
- Diagnosing under pressure. Finding why a machine stopped, fixing it, and checking that the fix actually holds.
- Working on my own. Years of running equipment without someone watching over my shoulder.
- Following procedure. A wrong machine setting wastes material, so every step gets checked.
- Explaining technical things plainly. Turning a technical requirement into something a customer understands.
What I’m studying
Applied Informatics (Bc.) at the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, part-time with weekend classes, since 09/2025.
- Year 1 (done): Programming in C and C++, Computer Networks I, Algorithms and Data Structures I, Internet Technologies (HTML, CSS, JS), Advanced Internet Technologies (PHP)
- Year 2 (in progress): Computer Networks II, Algorithms and Data Structures II, Computer Architecture, Modern Programming Languages, Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Theoretical Foundations of Computer Science
Certifications
| Certification | Status | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco CCST | in progress | Working on it now |
| Cisco CCNA | next | Main goal after CCST |
| CompTIA Security+ | later | After CCST and CCNA |
| CompTIA A+ | skipped | Learning the material, but the tickets and runbooks show the skills better than the cert would |
| CompTIA Network+ | probably skipped | CCNA covers the same ground and more |
What I work with
- Active Directory: users, groups, OUs, GPO, replication between domain controllers
- DNS and DHCP troubleshooting in a Windows environment
- Windows client and server: installation, updates, maintenance, diagnostics
- Microsoft 365: users, licences, basic policies
- Networking basics: TCP/IP, subnetting, VLANs, switching and routing fundamentals
- Remote support: Quick Assist, RDP, connection troubleshooting
- Linux (Fedora is my daily driver), Git, Docker
- Scripting: PowerShell, Python, Bash, SQL
- Web: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Next.js, Astro, Hugo
The lab
Everything I practise runs on a refurbished Lenovo ThinkCentre M920q Tiny (i7-8700T, 32 GB RAM) with Hyper-V. It hosts a small lab.local domain: DC01 on Windows Server 2025 as domain controller, DNS and DHCP, and CL01 on Windows 11 Enterprise as a domain-joined client. More on why I built it this way in Building my homelab.
IT Lab Notes
The hands-on part of my learning is documented on it.marianholly.com, in Slovak:
- Tickets: problems I break and fix in the lab, written up as symptom → diagnosis → cause → fix → prevention
- Runbooks: step-by-step checks like AD replication, backups, DNS zones and SRV records
- Knowledge base: short how-tos written for end users
- Notes: explainers and guides on DNS, Kerberos, BitLocker, PowerShell, ITIL, and more
Contact
- Email: [email protected]
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marian-holly
- GitHub: github.com/MarianHolly