Monika Zajac

When I decided to pursue a career in data, I didn’t know how to access the field given every role I looked at asked for qualifications and experience; neither of which I had or knew how to obtain. At the time of searching, my mum had lost her job and I was the main provider for the family, so a master’s or boot camp were completely off the table for me and I wasn’t aware of any other options.

I had nearly given up all hope of entering the field of data when luckily, I came across Kubrick which offered paid training to people without any experience in data, and the chance to work with clients across the UK for two years. This seemed too good to be true – I never expected to come across a company that would not only offer free training but pay you to train! The prospect of working on real world projects after training also appealed, as without the experience it’s often hard to secure a role in data as companies want to see you’ve applied the knowledge and haven’t just learnt the theory.

After researching the company in more detail and speaking to people that already worked there, I applied to the Data Engineering stream and was accepted onto the course. I was so excited when I received that call - suddenly so many things that had always seemed impossible to someone like me became an actual possibility.

Throughout the two years with Kubrick, I learnt so much and was presented so many opportunities that simply wouldn’t have been possible without the paid training. It honestly was a complete game-changer. It’s allowed me to build an actual career in something I love, support my family, and grow my aspirations even further which is something I’ll always be grateful to them for. Some people might be put off by the two-year commitment in return for paid training but really two years is nothing in the grand scheme of things and the skills, knowledge, and experience you gain over the course of that period is something you’d struggle to find anywhere else. Within the space of two years, I was working on advanced projects and even stepped in as maternity cover for my director – there’s no chance I could have done something like that so early on in my career if it hadn’t been for Kubrick.

After the two years, I joined my client on a permanent basis which was the perfect decision for me at the time and enabled me to grow my managerial and leadership skills, whilst simultaneously building my data knowledge. I’ve since returned to Kubrick and am now working as a senior consultant within Kubrick Advanced, leading teams of junior Kubrick consultants across multiple clients and industries. I’ll also be moving to the US within the next few months where I’ll lead junior teams and manage stakeholder relationships at a senior level, which further shows the opportunities within Kubrick really are never ending.

If you’d told me back in 2017 that within five years, I’d be leading data teams across clients and industries and heading across the globe to manage data projects in the US, I would have assumed it was a joke. I’m so happy this is my reality and am so thankful to Kubrick for providing me with this opportunity to get into data through their paid training programme.

If anybody reading this is thinking ‘that’s great, but it couldn’t happen to me’ then you’re wrong. If you’re looking for a career that’s endlessly exciting, opens numerous doors, and allows you to rapidly accelerate then join Kubrick and all of this could be a reality for you too.