Consultant Spotlight: Ramis Kamil

By Digital Futures
February 10, 2025

We spoke with Ramis Kamil who, following his time at the Digital Futures Academy, has launched his tech career in Stevenage with one of our global banking clients.

A diverse career history: My journey to a tech career change

I had quite a varied and diverse career history before I ever thought about a tech career change. I was an account manager for a mobile phone distribution centre, I had a brief stint as a journalist, and I had also worked as a project co-ordinator for an internet-based company. Across all these different roles I gained experience in project management, writing, content creation and research – all of which led me towards transitioning to a career in digital about 10 years ago.

My work in digital at this stage was focused more on the marketing side of things rather than the technical side of things. Marketing was where I started getting involved in more of the analytics side of things and I suppose that was where my interest in data analytics and data engineering began. That then started my thinking around a tech career change.

I realised very quickly that to make myself viable to employers in the data engineering space, it would take at least six months of work to get that traction and differentiate myself a little bit more. I initially did a three-month tech skills bootcamp, but I knew I needed to put more work in to really stand out. My story of looking for a tech role is one that is familiar to so many people – the job market was filled with junior roles that were asking for two-years of experience which I didn’t have. I came across Digital Futures and, in comparison to other similar companies, I came to realise that the Digital Futures programme was a very legitimate pathway to get my foot in the door for a tech job. The Digital Futures Academy looked like a really good step for me to take to set me on the road to making my tech career change.

Mastering my tech skills: From the Academy to Site Reliability Engineer

The Digital Futures Academy is fast paced; it was clear from the start that it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. The AWS Data Engineer Associate certification that you gain on the data engineering pathway is known for not being easy. I knew from the first week that the learning experience was going to be a challenge and that I would need to concentrate and really apply myself.

I’m using so many of the skills I learned in the Academy in my role on client site as a Windows Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) – whether it’s the cloud engineering side or the data engineering tech stack. The skills you learn are completely transferable to your role you go on to be placed in, making the Academy an incredibly valuable experience. I felt incredibly well prepared for my placement, not just with my technical skills but the career and professional skills I learned too.

"I felt incredibly well prepared for my placement, not just with my technical skills but the career and professional skills I learned too."

Ramis Kamil, Site Reliablity Engineer

As an SRE, my team responds to any demands, responsibilities and initiatives that we have. It’s a challenging role – it requires a lot of grit and determination. There’s always something to learn, a new tech to get used to and the chance to hone our skills as best we can. The role is multifaceted, whether it’s focused on cloud or on-prem, engineering or ops, or AI and automation. We have a wide perspective and need a broad understanding of our environment to do the job.

Fast-tracking my career in Stevenage: A thriving tech hub with a strong community

The placement I am on with Digital Futures is quite unique as I’ve been placed with a global investment bank at their tech hub in Stevenage. The programme has been designed to facilitate our career progression within the bank. We’re here to learn and to be moulded into future leaders in the organisation. There’s a major emphasis on integrating us into the culture here and a huge opportunity to learn and grow. We are given milestones to reach and there’s an emphasis on achievements; there’s also an emphasis on us to further educate ourselves or go on to get more certifications. It really feels like we’re on a fast-track for our careers.

The special thing about the bank’s office in Stevenage is that it’s completely tech focused. It’s a cool place to be with some great people. I’m a career changer so I’m a little bit older than the average person but I really feel like I belong. I’ve made loads of friends and there’s an excellent culture that has been developed in the Stevenage hub. There’s a sense of togetherness and a strong team ethic that has been fostered because we’re all on this programme together.

I’m working in the Stevenage office alongside other Digital Futures engineers, and we have built a great sense of camaraderie. It’s also great to be so well connected with the Digital Futures team, through my engagement manager and the socials that we have as a whole company. I have a real fondness for the experience I’ve had with Digital Futures and the people here.

"The placement I am on with Digital Futures is quite unique as I’ve been placed with a global investment bank at their tech hub in Stevenage. We’re here to learn and to be moulded into future leaders in the organisation."

Ramis Kamil, Site Reliability Engineer