I think it would be safe to assume that after completing a Bachelor of Information Technology, majoring in Information Systems, somewhere along the way there’d be units covering accessible tech… right? Sorry to say, that wasn’t the case for me. And unfortunately, the lack of accessibility in tech education wasn’t unique to my university.
Accessibility still hasn’t found its place in the ‘formal curriculum requirements’ of most institutions. So how do you learn about it? That’s a fair question and one I had to answer for myself.
My degree
I started my degree in June 2020 with no real plan. Honestly, I didn’t even know if IT was the ‘right’ choice for me. At the time, my only tech ‘savvy’ move was pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete whenever my laptop froze. So yes, jumping into IT was a bit of a leap.
But time was going to pass anyway, so why not pass it by learning something new? It turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Still, in those early semesters, nothing felt ground breaking. I got through the core units, but none of them made me think, ‘Yes, this is for me’. By my second year, I was worried. I didn’t feel passionate about what I was studying. I was scared I’d graduate into a career I didn’t enjoy and be stuck there.
So, like any person having a quarter-life crisis, I did what most of us do… I searched ‘jobs near me’ and started scrolling.
The turning point
I spent hours filtering roles, reading listings, and searching for anything that might stand out. For the most part, nothing did.
Then one title had me scroll my mouse back: Digital Accessibility Consultant.
I didn’t even know what that meant, but something about it caught my attention. I clicked the listing. I read it a few times. Then I opened a new tab and typed: ‘What’s digital accessibility?’
Soon I had half a dozen tabs open: ‘Accessibility in tech’, ‘What skills do you need for accessibility’, ‘Digital accessibility courses’.
That moment shifted everything. It gave me a new direction, one that felt meaningful and exciting.
Project: Learn as much as I can
From that point on, I set myself a goal: to build the skills I needed for a career in accessibility.
I restructured my degree to include anything even slightly related – semantic HTML, design principles, user experience. When my degree didn’t offer enough, I went looking elsewhere:
- Online courses
- Watching passionate people talk about accessibility on YouTube
- Self-guided resources
I even made up a ‘unit’ for myself called ‘Accessibility’ and I treated it like one of my official university subjects.
I also started reaching out to people in the field. I asked questions, listened, and learned as much as I could from anyone willing to share their knowledge.
For the next two years, I shaped my studies and choices around that path. Having that focus gave me energy and motivation I hadn’t felt before.
The more I learned, the more questions I had
The more I learned about accessibility, the more I kept asking myself: ‘Why wasn’t this part of my degree from the start?’
Nearly every article I read about accessibility said the same thing: it needs to be considered from the very beginning. Yet too often it’s left until the end, treated like an afterthought.
In my opinion, digital accessibility should be a required part of every tech degree. Teaching it early wouldn’t just build practical skills; it would help create a mindset of designing for everyone from the beginning.
As our digital world grows, accessibility is no longer ‘optional’. Yet I was halfway through my degree and didn’t know about it. That’s alarming.
Advice for anyone exploring this path
If you’re reading this and you feel interested in accessibility, here’s what I want you to know:
- You don’t need a degree to work in this field
- You can build strong skills through online resources
- Watch passionate people talk about accessibility
How it’s going
Two years after discovering that accessibility job listing, I applied for a role at the very company that first introduced me to accessibility. Today, I feel grateful to be part of Intopia’s team, working to make the digital world more inclusive.
For me, accessibility is about ensuring people aren’t excluded from digital spaces. Finding direction through accessibility gave me purpose and now I get to do work that I’m genuinely passionate about. I truly hope I can help make positive change in this ever-growing space.