Iunia Burlan

I first became interested in data during my time at BlackRock, where I undertook a variety of courses ranging from pure programming to mathematics for data science. This led me to pursue a master’s degree in Data Science, which really resonated with my analytical mind and strengthened my desire to pursue a career in this space.

By Joining Kubrick Advanced, I was given the opportunity to undertake four months of full-time, salaried training in the latest data engineering tools and technologies, before embarking on a client project where I applied what I had learnt to real-world data challenges. The training was extremely practical and hands-on and was the perfect bridge between the theory work I had completed during university and client projects.

Additionally, joining Kubrick Advanced meant I was given the opportunity to manage my own project post-training and lead a team of consultants, which allowed me to develop my project management and leadership skills, whilst gaining a great sense of responsibility and satisfaction from my work.

Everyone that interviewed me at Kubrick was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, as well as keen to make the experience as useful and educational for me as possible. They walked me through the upcoming training and were open to receiving feedback about what would make the four months most valuable to me, which made me feel really valued as a candidate.

During the four months of data engineering training, I was introduced to a variety of technologies ranging from the basic skills that you need in this sector such as Python, SQL, all the way to more specialised technologies such as cloud computing, datalakes, etc. From a soft skills standpoint, there were a lot of opportunities to lead small team projects and present in front of larger audiences, which was beneficial for polishing project management and presentation skills.

In terms of delivery style, the training was a combination of theoretical and practical work, with a significant focus on the latter. There were plenty of team projects that involved working in a small group on a particular topic and technology, which really helped strengthen my teamwork and team-leading capabilities. At the end of the training, there was also a real-world project completed in collaboration with one of Kubrick's largest clients, which served as a great preparation for our first client assignment.

Since completing the four months of training, I have been on assignment at one of Kubrick's largest clients where I have been managing two squads of consultants. My role involves helping onboard the consultants and managing client stakeholders, as well as getting directly involved in one of the projects and working through my own tasks related to cloud migration. This project has introduced me to a wealth of new technologies and concepts and has provided a really steep learning curve for my career. My responsibilities involve managing consultants' workloads and keeping abreast of their progress, reviewing code where applicable, managing client stakeholders and at times, communications between them and Kubrick, as well as completing my own technical story points.

Looking back on the four months of training, it definitely helped prepare me for my on-site projects. Firstly, it helped by setting a good foundation in both Python and SQL, that has since proved beneficial for my first client engagement. The training has also introduced me to a variety of topics that I am now using on client site, such as Kafka, Tableau, etc. Whilst the training provides a great foundation, there will always be gaps in knowledge, meaning that every client engagement is a great opportunity for learning and development. My Kubrick network has also been extremely supportive and helpful in my learning journey, both from a technical and from a soft skills perspective, and I am extremely grateful to be surrounded by such genuinely kind, considerate people.

Since starting my first client project at the beginning of February 2022, I have continued to learn new things and develop my knowledge every single day. Beyond project-related learning, Kubrick Advanced offers 20 development days per year which can be used to focus on any topic that you might wish to explore in depth, be it technical or not. This is a fantastic opportunity to take focused time away from the everyday job, and really delve into a new technology or skill that you would like to develop but may not be exposed to during your project-work.

This opportunity to continuously learn and develop yourself in a manner that is tailored to your own career aspirations is an extremely valuable benefit of being part of Kubrick Advanced. All senior stakeholders are very supportive of learning and development and, most importantly, they are always open to conversations about what would work best for you as an individual and for your career goals. Additionally, Kubrick Advanced members are given significant responsibility and autonomy over the projects that they lead, which allows you to really develop and grow as a leader.

Becoming a member of Kubrick Advanced has certainly accelerated my career, for all the reasons mentioned above. The responsibility, trust and support I receive from all the senior stakeholders within Kubrick Advanced is allowing me to grow as a leader and to develop skills that are tailored to my personality and career aspirations. Furthermore, being able to have open and honest conversations about my concerns, short and long-term goals, etc with both my peers and managers, has allowed me to really think about the direction in which I want my career to progress and to take steps in that regard.

I would certainly recommend Kubrick Advanced to others. I believe that Kubrick Advanced provides a great environment for all its members to learn the skills that they are most passionate about, to grow as leaders and to really create a community of peers where you feel included and supported.