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Tech in Roseburg

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When Uber presented their employees with the opportunity to work from anywhere in the US, Joseph Ziegler knew exactly where he wanted to go: back to Oregon. Ziegler was born and raised in the Roseburg and Winston area, and had always dreamed of being able to return to his home state, but thought it wouldn’t be possible until closer to the end of his career. The pandemic changed all that, and the opportunity to move back to the Umpqua Valley came much sooner than expected. 

“Oregon, especially the Umpqua Valley where I grew up, holds a special place in my heart. It's a peaceful place to raise a family, to experience all four seasons, and truly call home. Moving back here has been a dream come true, and my life has been better for it. I now live on a beautiful piece of property where each morning I'm greeted with the sight of deer, wild turkeys, and the wonderful trees.” Ziegler said 

Joseph Ziegler was born in Roseburg where he attended Green and Sunnyslope in the Roseburg School District up until 7th grade. He then started going to Winston Middle School and completed his early education at Douglas High School. Ziegler was really impacted at Douglas High School by his drafting teacher Bill Warren and Candy Robinson, who taught an after school program called Students Recycling Used Technology. This program helped Ziegler learn how computers worked at both the software and hardware level, and is where he realized he wanted to work with technology for the rest of his life. 

After graduating from Douglas High School in 2005, Ziegler enrolled at Umpqua Community College in the Computer Informations Systems program. His goal had always been to attend UCC and eventually work locally in the tech industry. During his third year, after talking with his professors and some industry professionals, Ziegler decided that getting a bachelor’s degree would be helpful to him getting a great job in tech field. So he decided to attend Oregon Institute of Technology, (a top technical school on the West Coast) in Klamath Falls, where he was enrolled from 2008 until 2013. Ziegler started at OIT in the Software Engineering program before changing his major to Information Technology with an emphasis in Application Development. In 2013, Ziegler graduated OIT with a bachelor of science degree. 

Google

During Zieglers final year at OIT in 2013, he began looking all over Oregon for possible job opportunities after graduation. Though he was aware of the big tech giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon, he never thought he had the necessary skills or intelligence to work for them, so he never applied. 

Then, out of nowhere, a recruiter from Google reached out about their two-year fixed term program for recent college graduates. Ziegler thought it might be spam until he talked with the recruiter and learned the interest in him was real. “Beyond excited”, Ziegler began the rigorous interview process which consisted of four phone interviews and four to five in-person interviews at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California. 

For perspective, Google receives over 3 million applications per year and has about a .2% acceptance rate. In spite the extremely low odds, Google offered Ziegler a job in August of 2013. 

At Google, Ziegler supported their employees with complex technical issues, and said the experience was like a dream come true. The campuses and headquarters had every amenity one could imagine from unlimited meals, snacks, bowling alleys, game rooms, doctors office, a haircut facility and more. As part of his two year program, Ziegler had the opportunity to work in other Google offices worldwide and live in a country of his choice for three months. He chose Ireland where he worked in the Dublin office. He also had the opportunity to work in Germany, UK, Denmark and Portugal during his two years at Google. 

Uber

As the completion of  Zieglers two year program at Google was approaching, he was given two options. Apply for a permanent position at Google or look for opportunities elsewhere. Ultimately, Ziegler wanted to work for a smaller company where he could have a more. significant impact. Google at the time had around 32k employees. 

So Ziegler started looking for another position and shortly thereafter Uber and another company reached out asking Joseph to interview with them. Both ended up offering positions, but Ziegler ultimately decided to accept Uber’s offer as they were located on the West Coast and closer to family. At the time, Uber had around 5k employees, significantly smaller than Google.

At Uber, Ziegler started on the service desk team by supporting internal employee support tickets. In 2016, he won the MVP award in his department. He also started building internal tools to help automate day-to-day tasks. Eventually, Ziegler approached other internal teams about transitioning to another role and ended up being hired on the Corp Site Reliability Engineering team, where he still works today after over 7 years at Uber. 

Today, Zieglers day-to-day work involves managing thousands of computer systems and being responsible for various services he built from the ground up that support more than 30k Uber employees. 

Future of Remote Work

The benefits of remote work have been significant for Ziegler. 

“One of the biggest benefits of working remotely is the elimination of a grueling 1.5 hour commute each way, which adds up to a staggering 3 hours per day. The time spent commuting, combined with the demands of the workday and sometimes working late, often left me with very little time to spend with my family and friends.” Ziegler Said 

Ziegler also see’s remote work as boost to rural communities like Roseburg. 

“As remote work increasingly becomes a norm for companies, more people will seek out the communities of their choice, such as Roseburg. It's possible that people who grew up in this area, like myself, may return home thanks to remote work. Additionally, others who have never experienced the peace and serenity of a town like Roseburg may now have the opportunity to do so. This influx of new residents has the potential to boost the local economy and help small towns thrive. It's an exciting time for places like Roseburg, as the benefits of remote work extend far beyond just the individual worker.”

Ziegler also had some advice for young people living in areas like Roseburg that aspire to work in the tech industry.

“The best advice I can offer to anyone wanting to work in the tech industry or any field is to always believe in yourself. Never doubt your abilities, even if you come from a small town such as Roseburg. It's still possible to land your dream job at any company in the world. All it takes is believing in yourself, putting in the effort, being a do-learner (learn by doing things on your own), and never giving up. You don't need to attend an Ivy League school to succeed. Our education system in Roseburg and throughout Oregon is excellent, and it can help you secure any job you desire.” 

Giving Back

Since arriving back in Roseburg, Ziegler has been working on some ways to give back to the community he grew up in. He is planning to launch a program that collects used computers from community members, refurbishes them, and offers them to others at little to no cost. The effort was inspired by his own experience of how he got into computers in high school, and he wants it to be a way to give back to the community. He’s also started his own side business offering IT support and engineering expertise to small businesses and residents in the Roseburg Area. 

Ziegler‘s story underscores the importance of not only finding fulfilling work or a career but also being able to pursue it in a location that brings joy and satisfaction.

“Working remotely on my secluded property has been an incredible experience for me, my wife, and our kids. We feel truly blessed to be living the life we always wanted.”

Ziegler also wanted to thank the two teachers who helped inspire him into his career.

“I want to deeply thank Bill Warren and Candy Robinson for getting me started in this field and helping me continue working with technology until graduating high school. Thanks to them, I'm now living my dream.”

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If anyone has any tech equipment they would like to donate or has any questions for Joseph, he can be reached at joseph@josephziegler.com  

From the Umpqua Valley to Silicon Valley and Back

I believe Douglas County will be home to a thriving tech community in the decades to come. This has already started, but for things to accelerate, we need to do a few more things to equip and enable more of our youth to stay and work in the tech industry in Douglas County. Fortunately, things have been changing rapidly, and those changes are likely to benefit places like Douglas County significantly. 

Twenty years ago or so, the tech industry exploded in the United States. The demand for software developers and other jobs in the tech industry far outpaced supply and tech jobs quickly became one of the highest-earning professions in the country. People could learn to code and become software developers anywhere, but they still needed to migrate to regional tech hubs across the US where a majority of tech companies were headquartered. A brain drain ensued with smaller communities losing some of their brightest minds. For these communities to keep up, they had to lure tech companies to their area and so bring the jobs with them. Things are now changing rapidly and tech companies and workers are able to set up shop anywhere in the US. 

A few significant things have changed over the past 20 years which are providing Roseburg and Douglas County with a significant opportunity. 

First, remote working has greatly accelerated, and many of the jobs in the tech industry can now be done from anywhere in the country. This is significant. As this becomes more normalized, people will become freer to live in desirable locations even if they work for companies based out of big cities far away. Douglas County could be a big winner in the long run because this area is incredibly beautiful and there is lots of land and room to expand. Tech workers are now free to move from dense, urban centers, to beautiful rural areas like Douglas County.

Second, education is rapidly moving online and this is significant for areas like Douglas County. One of the biggest reasons students leave Douglas County right after high school is for education and opportunity. Once they move away, they rarely come back. One only has to glance at the lack of population growth for the area over the past several decades. This is a tremendous loss. The community pours into students for 18 years and then those students move away in search of education and opportunity. This cycle needs to stop in order for the area to flourish in the long run. Fortunately, things are rapidly changing in favor of areas like Douglas County! 

So what components do we need to build up our tech sector in Douglas County? 

Vision - The biggest limiting factor in building up a tech sector in Douglas County is the belief that it can be done. If we continue to be convinced that it can’t be done, people won’t even try. It 100% can be done and the work has already been started by people like Trevor Mauch, who’s building his software company Carrot here. My son and I are also building a software company here. I don’t want to be forced to move to a bigger city once it reaches a certain size. But to pull that off, we need to raise up and train more software developers and other tech talent in this area. 

Education - Any student in Douglas County has access to a world-class tech education online, almost entirely for free. There has never before been such an abundance of freely available educational resources. Some resources have a minimal cost, but the vast majority of training resources are available for free. Students don’t need their parents, local teachers or mentors to even know how to code. My 15-year-old son is an amazing software developer and learned entirely online. I’ve been a coach, encourager, and helped come up with real-world projects, but I wasn’t his programming teacher. I’m confident other parents and teachers in the community can have similar impacts on their children.

Support & Encouragement - This is one of the most significant components of success. When a parent or loved one puts confidence in a child and encourages them, it’s a very powerful thing. Kids can learn amazingly fast and can accomplish far more than is usually expected of them. Once they get really good at something, it becomes more enjoyable and it unlocks a level of confidence in the child that will help them the rest of their life. If a student is encouraged to consistently put time towards a craft or skill, after several years they will get very good at it. Once they have confidence in one area or skill, they will have the confidence needed to tackle other projects, even very ambitious projects!  

Jobs & Opportunity - As more tech company’s sprout up in Douglas County, more opportunities are created for local tech workers to be employed here. Local tech company Carrot and its CEO Trevor Mauch has been an excellent example of this. He operates out of a building in Downtown Roseburg and has hired about a dozen employees in the community. Not everyone is geared towards starting and running their own company, so it’s key to have an environment where the tech talent grown here can find jobs with local companies. 

Also, big tech companies all across the United States are embracing remote hiring. It’s now possible to work for most of these companies right from Douglas County once a person reaches a certain level of skills and experience. In fact, we already have residents here working for these big tech companies! 

Infrastructure - Having high-speed internet access is a significant thing. Local companies like Douglas Fast Net have done an incredible job expanding access to high-speed internet all over Douglas County. You can now live out on a ranch or farm in the country and have fiber internet right to your house. That’s one of the first questions someone working in the tech industry is going to ask when deciding upon a place to live. We’ve got this area nailed. 

What can we do to help the movement? 

Parents - Children need encouragement and vision more than anything. Do you believe it’s possible for your child to learn tech skills and flourish in Douglas County? If you don’t, your child will likely pick up on that and they will continue down the path of preparing to leave the area after high school. We need to break the cycle and it really starts with parents having a vision that staying and flourishing in Douglas County is a possibility. 

Educators - Outside of parents, teachers have a significant amount of influence over students. All it takes is one teacher to notice gifting in a child, and encourage that kid to keep at it, keep working, and to keep trying. It can make all the difference in the world. We all know that not all kids have ideal home environments or adults in their life that encourage them very often. Teachers have the unique opportunity to really impact these kids' lives. 

Citizens - Look for opportunities to help. We will continue to share stories and events and opportunities to get involved in the months and years ahead. 

Local politicians - Follow the Mayor of Miami on Twitter. Francis Suarez is putting on a clinic for Mayors and local politicians on how to help a city or community become a more vibrant tech hub. His motto is “How can I help”. https://twitter.com/FrancisSuarez

This is an incredibly exciting time to be alive. One of the greatest implications of the internet has been that it’s allowed individuals to take on institutions on a much more level playing field. It has allowed kids who could code to create some of the biggest companies and most used software products in the world. 20 years ago these didn’t exist. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Android, Gmail, Netflix streaming, Wikipedia, Google Maps, App Store, Reddit, Snapchat, Skype, Spotify, Airbnb, Uber, and iTunes. The skills used to create and build these can be learned by anyone anywhere, no matter how small the town is. 

What software and tech companies will be built here in Douglas County? It will be exciting to see! 

Share the excitement? Have a local tech project you are working on or are you a part of? We would love to share more stories! Shoot me an email at ryan@jointracker.com

From the Umpqua Valley to Silicon Valley and Back

Douglas County’s Tech Opportunity