As tech industry booms, workers turn to coding for lucrative career change

San Francisco

AFTER Paul Minton graduated from college, he worked as a waiter but always felt he should do more.

So Mr Minton, a 26-year-old math major, took a three-month course in computer programming and data analysis. As a waiter, he made US$20,000 a year. His starting salary last year as a data scientist at a Web startup here was more than US$100,000. "Six figures, right off the bat," he said. "It was astonishing."