{"id":112,"date":"2016-04-25T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=112"},"modified":"2026-02-25T12:15:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T20:15:44","slug":"justin-ihara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/justin-ihara\/","title":{"rendered":"OSU Ecampus can make dreams come true in computer science"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some people know exactly what their future holds, while others are happy to fly by the seat of their pants. And then there are those who pick up a magazine and start reading a \u201ctop 50 jobs in the U.S.\u201d article and think, \u201cNow that\u2019s what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s precisely how Justin Ihara discovered his dream job.<\/p>\n

After earning a degree in mathematics in 2009 from Oregon State, Justin decided to go in a slightly different direction \u2014 computer science.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is heading in the digital direction, so I am right in the middle of what is new and interesting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Justin<\/div>\n

Justin Ihara discusses his job, programming computers that control various machines, such as cutting lasers. Photo by Hannah O\u2019Leary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After gaining inspiration from the magazine article, Justin enrolled in the online postbaccalaureate computer science program<\/a> offered by OSU\u2019s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). The program is delivered entirely online by Oregon State Ecampus, a leader in distance education ranked in the top 10 nationally by “U.S. News & World Report” two years in a row.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program gave me the basic building blocks I needed to thrive in the industry,\u201d said Justin, now an engineer for Micro Systems Engineering, Inc. (MSEI).<\/p>\n

As a student, Justin attended the EECS biannual Computer Science Career Showcase\u00a0in Portland, an event that brings together dozens of Ecampus students and alumni from across the world, to meet with potential employers from companies such as Garmin, Google, IBM, Intel, Puppet Labs and Kaiser Permanente.<\/p>\n

A 2013 graduate of the program, Justin met his employer \u2014 a company based out of Lake Oswego that develops software and manufactures printed circuit boards for implantable medical devices \u2014 at the career showcase. Following graduation, he began working at MSEI as an intern and quickly moved up to a full-time position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get to do a lot of different things that have an effect on the physical world,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to have variety and see your work come to fruition in the physical world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

“<\/span>The program gave me the basic building blocks I needed to thrive in the industry.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In December, Justin was invited back to the showcase as an industry expert. The showcase features panel discussions, a networking luncheon and one-on-one interviews with employers.<\/p>\n

Justin is one example of success stemming from the program. More recently, Ecampus computer science alumna Renee McLain \u201915 landed a job at Intel.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal, my dream is to work at Intel,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat an exciting place to be. The changes you can make, the things you can discover and the dreams that come true at Intel are exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since its inception in June 2012, the Ecampus computer science program has doubled the number of OSU\u2019s computer science graduates per year, sending 300 alumni into the workforce.<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s students are located in\u00a0all 50 states\u00a0and nearly 20 countries, and their educational backgrounds run the gamut, from health care and accounting to sociology and construction management. Employers say the array of undergraduate degrees gives OSU students the upper hand when they hit the job market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have noticed the quality of students to be quite high, with noticeable professional maturity from previous work experience as well as interesting balance from previous degrees,\u201d said Jason Bushnell, a human resources manager for Garmin.<\/p>\n

Read this story in the spring 2016 issue<\/a> of “The Oregon Stater” alumni magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>After earning a degree in mathematics in 2009 from Oregon State, Justin Ihara decided to go in a slightly different direction \u2014 computer science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[673],"tags":[160,20],"class_list":["post-112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-computer-science"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Justin-Ihara-3.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-1O","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1442,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/online-computer-science-more-online\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":0},"title":"Online computer science program now more online than ever","author":"Rachel Robertson","date":"June 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The setting for Oregon State's online computer science students may not have changed, but plenty is different this year for its students and faculty. Program director, Ben Brewster shares how he and many students have been affected by COVID-19.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ben Brewster smiles from a video stream on the photographer's laptop","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/brewster_cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/brewster_cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/brewster_cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/brewster_cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/brewster_cropped.jpg?fit=1200%2C564&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":305,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/pathway-to-mnr\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":1},"title":"Pathway to MNR | Oregon State Ecampus","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"April 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Justin Zweifel was looking for a competitive edge in the fisheries and wildlife job market, so he turned to Oregon State University to broaden his knowledge and skill set. After earning a Graduate Certificate in Water Conflict Management online with Oregon State Ecampus, Justin realized the certificate was a great\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Justin Zweifel speaks to two faculty in the Master's of Natural Resources program.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/pathway-mnr.jpg?fit=732%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/pathway-mnr.jpg?fit=732%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/pathway-mnr.jpg?fit=732%2C410&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/pathway-mnr.jpg?fit=732%2C410&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":411,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/justin-wolford\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":2},"title":"Behind the scenes with Justin Wolford, computer science instructor","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"February 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Justin Wolford took awhile to discover that teaching computer science was his desired profession. He earned his bachelor's degree in communications, then enrolled at Oregon State to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science. After an internship at NASA, he soon realized that he liked teaching more than research, so he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Justin Wolford, an instructor in the Oregon State Ecampus post-baccalaureate computer science program online, stands on an indoor balcony wearing a black polo shirt.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/justin-wolford-web.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/justin-wolford-web.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/justin-wolford-web.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":301,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/justin-zweifel-master-natural-resources-oregon-state-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":3},"title":"Justin Zweifel, Master of Natural Resources | Oregon State University","author":"Tyler Hansen","date":"May 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Justin Zweifel was looking for a competitive edge in the fisheries and wildlife job market, so he decided to pursue his Master of Natural Resources degree online with Oregon State Ecampus. He applied credits earned from his water conflict management graduate certificate -- also earned online with OSU Ecampus --\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Archives"","block_context":{"text":"Archives","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/archives\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Justin Zweifel wears a black coat and stands in front of a red brick building with dark green trim.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/zweifel-3.jpg?fit=734%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/zweifel-3.jpg?fit=734%2C410&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/zweifel-3.jpg?fit=734%2C410&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/zweifel-3.jpg?fit=734%2C410&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2477,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/what-kind-of-online-computer-science-degree-should-you-pursue\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":4},"title":"What kind of online computer science degree should you pursue?","author":"Elena Moffet","date":"February 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Oregon State University offers multiple online bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science. Read our guide to better understand who each program is designed for, skills you'll gain and possible career outcomes.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A person sitting in front of two computer monitors with code displayed on them.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/News-CS-degree-comparison-AdobeStock_472215511-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/News-CS-degree-comparison-AdobeStock_472215511-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/News-CS-degree-comparison-AdobeStock_472215511-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/News-CS-degree-comparison-AdobeStock_472215511-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2077,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/oregon-state-everywhere-justin-nelson\/","url_meta":{"origin":112,"position":5},"title":"Oregon State Everywhere: ‘Consider where you want to go, not where you are’","author":"Justin Nelson","date":"August 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Justin Nelson says the topics covered in Oregon State's online environmental sciences master's degree program are ideal for helping students who want to change careers \"break into new markets and industries.\" Earning a master's led Justin to a new role working in corporate sustainability strategy.","rel":"","context":"In "All Stories"","block_context":{"text":"All Stories","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/category\/all\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Justin-Nelson-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Justin-Nelson-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Justin-Nelson-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/Justin-Nelson-800x450-1.jpg?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}