San Luis Obispo Among Nation’s Best in Tech Job Growth
San Luis Obispo County is one of the top places in the country for technology-related business and tech jobs. A recent study reveals the county is competing with some of the biggest cities nationwide when it comes to job growth in the technology sector.
Jeremy Koellish is a hometown success story. After graduating from Arizona State University years ago, he returned to his roots in San Luis Obispo determined to find work.
“When I came back here, I couldn’t really find a job so I started doing IT work and that’s how TekTegrity kind of started,” said Koellish.
His IT company TekTegrity began with Koellish and his business partner in 2006. Now, 8 years later, it’s grown to 32 employees in their San Luis Obispo office. Another office has opened in Fresno as well. Altogether, TekTegrity has more than 250 clients on the Central Coast.
“On a day to day basis, we are fielding phone calls from our clients whenever they have computer related issues,” said Koellish. “Whether they can’t print or there’s a major network outage, we’re here to support them and fix those issues.”
TekTegrity is a part of a tech-boom in San Luis Obispo County. A 7-year study by CareerBuilder and Economic Modeling Specialists International shows the county is 2nd in the nation in tech job growth for millennials.
“Beating by a long shot other technology centers like Austin, Seattle, San Francisco really powerfully underscores the opportunity that San Luis Obispo has to offer,” said Ermina Karim, President and CEO of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce.
Koellish says the presence of Cal Poly provides an eager and talented work force for local companies. He says geography plays a huge factor as well. Simply put, living in one of the most beautiful parts of the country doesn’t hurt.
“You can find something every day of the week in San Luis Obispo County to do,” said Koellish. “I think that’s really exciting for young millennials and also young families.”
The study also shows that there was an 8.9% annual job growth for young workers in all occupations, good for sixth highest in the nation.
