Working High Tech in the Heartland

People I meet in business are always surprised to find out I live in Jenks, Oklahoma. Many people not native to the United States even have problems locating the state on a map and have no clue where Tulsa, of which Jenks is a suburb, is located. For those people, I joke and tell them that when they fly from RTP to San Francisco if they look out the window halfway through the flight, they'll see Oklahoma.

When you think of a career in high tech, the Tulsa, Oklahoma region doesn't come to mind. The usual suspects of Silicon Valley, Seattle, Austin, RTP, Boston, or perhaps Salt Lake City or Minneapolis come to mind. For most people, Tulsa invokes the sound country music or images of oil rigs and tornadoes. But for those of us who live here and work in technology, the thoughts stray towards low traffic issues, reasonable airline service through major hubs, low cost of living and a revitalized downtown. This isn't to say that people don't move away, many do. But there are quite a few of us who have looked at relocation and wondered how it would help our careers and then simply found a way forward while staying planted right here.

While here in Tulsa I have worked for a nationwide technology consulting firm, been in the early stages of a now, major storage company, helped guide large companies onto a solid path for long-term technology adoption, etc. Never have I felt like living here has been a hindrance to moving up in the business. This isn't to say there aren't things I worry about from a career perspective, I mean, let's be honest, it's hard to have a meetup on Machine Learning/AI or meet for coffee to discuss the latest in software defined infrastructure here in the middle of the prairie. But I haven't let that stop me yet, and don't intend to let it do so in the future.

So how do I stay up to date? How do I stay near the front? I read, a lot, and from varied sources. When I attend conferences, I talk to those who are leading some of the developments and pay attention to the small startup booths. When I meet with partners and customers, I listen carefully to their challenges and their thoughts on what may come forth to solve them. And then, I think. I imagine the uses for the latest new glimmer on the technology horizon. I try to see how to fit it into business drivers that matter to customers and then see if it is more compelling than the status quo or other competitive tech already in market.

So, while Tulsa may not be the tech hub of the world, it is the place I call home. It's a place with ballet, opera, musicals, museums, etc. It's a place where life IS slow enough to sit and ponder and think about what could be. So, if you, like me, prefer to use your creative skills to understand how the latest technology fits with business, I encourage you to give Tulsa, or Kansas City, or Omaha, or any number of other similar cities a try.

Here's to living on Tulsa Time!