Legitimacy as a programmer universally requires a stamp of approval from institutions with power and privilege over marginalized groups.

The open-mindedness that permits very young people to succeed in tech goes out the window when it comes to the other end of the age spectrum.

What message are we sending about the tech industry to people who don’t want to be developers, after all?

My experiences call into question what we can do better to make more Latinos successful in tech.

In an industry where black, Latina, and indigenous womyn make up less than 3% of the field, we know that walking through those code school doors, we will be outliers.

While some code schools are intentionally predatory institutions, many more simply recycle the tired tropes and biased practices rampant in startup culture.