Women in Technology: Sarah Ulmer

Liquid Web’s Support Supervisor on her farm upbringing, learning to adapt, and what keeps her motivated.

Sarah Ulmer will at all times be a Texan. Though she was born in Portland, Oregon, and now lives in Oklahoma, she grew up on her grandfather’s ranch within the small town of Jefferson, Texas. It was a childhood full of chickens and horses, fresh watermelon and corn. When she wasn’t playing the clarinet or running track, Ulmer frolicked along with her sister playing outside or riding horses. “It was an ideal option to grow up,” she says. “Certainly one of today, I hope to own a bit of property like that where my kids can spend their days playing like my sister and I used to.”

For the past six years, Ulmer has brought the sense of adventure and crucial work ethic of growing up on a farm to her work in tech. “Once I first began with SolidWP in 2015, I barely knew what WordPress was,” she says. “I worked with the marketing department and quickly learned about WordPress, plugins, and so way more. I used to be moved to Sales Support the following yr.”

Now, Ulmer works as Liquid Web’s Support Supervisor, assisting the Support Team of their day-to-day operations, including support tickets, documentation, testing, and training. “I’m also answerable for assisting customers with their account services needs,” Ulmer says. “I help individuals with their purchases, accounts, pre-sales questions, sales and promotions, upgrades, and questions on their plans. I like helping customers determine what packages they need, fix account issues, and switch cancellations into renewals.”

The constant change of working in tech is a side of the job Ulmer loves. “This isn’t something that comes easy for me,” she says, “so it’s made me a greater person. You might have to learn to adapt—and adapt quickly—because technology changes so ceaselessly. You might have to maintain up.”

Ulmer says the 2 most influential people in her profession journey have been her parents. “They were such hard staff, and I learned that having a superb work ethic is greater than just showing up on time. You set 100% in in any respect times. They at all times told me I could do anything. And I believed them. I still do. But they made sure I knew that success would come through labor.”

Her drive is clear in her work at Liquid Web, having recently crafted essential internal documents about using account and payment systems. “Recently, I used to be tasked with creating onboarding templates for brand new and cross-training employees. These are detailed lists of things that a brand new or cross-training worker would wish to learn before they’ll take their very own tickets,” she says. “A template was created for every of our products in order that it’s geared specifically toward those items. And relatively than having latest employees ‘sink or swim’, they take time learning the brand new skills.”

It’s love for her team, her customers, and her kids that keep Ulmer focused day in and day trip. “I feel there are a few things that motivate me, primary being the team I work with at Liquid Web. They’re a incredible group of individuals, they usually motivate me to be the perfect I could be. Our customers also motivate me. I would like them to have a superb experience from purchase, installation, and licensing, all of the option to support. And every part in between. My third and most significant motivation is my three kids.”

When she’s not at work, Ulmer enjoys spending time along with her children and watching NFL games. “In the autumn, I like spending time within the backyard watching the children play soccer and run around having fun.”

Ulmer has sage advice for ladies considering a profession in tech. “Don’t feel intimidated. In case you’re interested by something, go for it. In case you don’t know anything about it, learn. Don’t let anything stop you. If one door closes, open one other one. Hell, kick it down. Make your personal path and do what you desire to do.” She is confident that the environment for ladies in tech will only proceed to enhance. “The long run is shiny for ladies in tech,” says Ulmer. “There are such a lot of more doors open now than there was once. And I feel more will proceed to open. There isn’t anything we are able to’t do.”