Uploaded April 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
As part of Origins, I have been researching the different paths of coders and designers into the tech industry, and the paths are wonderfully varied and unique. However, we continue to raise up and legitimise certain paths over others, implicitly deciding who gets to be a developer of CSS or Javascript. That language then feeds into job postings and wider perceptions of what it is to write CSS, what it is to write Javascript (or even Javascript frameworks), and the legitimacy of different learning paths. From this, we create hierarchies and draw lines which result in different pay scales and fluctuating perceptions of the code we write. This threatens to devalue inclusivity work, and the development community as a whole— let’s learn about the unconventional paths into development and consciously pull away from the damaging hierarchies we create. Let’s celebrate these journeys instead!
As part of Origins, I have been researching the different paths of coders and designers into the tech industry, and the paths are wonderfully varied and unique. However, we continue to raise up and legitimise certain paths over others, implicitly deciding who gets to be a developer of CSS or Javascript. That language then feeds into job postings and wider perceptions of what it is to write CSS, what it is to write Javascript (or even Javascript frameworks), and the legitimacy of different learning paths. From this, we create hierarchies and draw lines which result in different pay scales and fluctuating perceptions of the code we write. This threatens to devalue inclusivity work, and the development community as a whole— let’s learn about the unconventional paths into development and consciously pull away from the damaging hierarchies we create. Let’s celebrate these journeys instead!
