Dive Brief:

• According to an article at the New York Times, people across a spectrum of jobs — poker players, bookkeepers, baristas — are shedding their past for a future in the booming tech industry.
• The money in technology is cascading beyond investors and entrepreneurs into the broader digital work force, especially to those who can write modern code, the language of the digital world, the Times' Steve Lohr reports.
• Today, companies in most every industry, either by necessity or to follow the pack, are pursuing some sort of digital game plan — creating lucrative opportunities for computing-minded newcomers who want to reboot their lives.

Dive Insight:

For now, at least, it is a seller’s market for those who can master new technology tools for lowering a business’s costs, reaching its customers and automating decision-making — notably, cloud computing, mobile apps and data analytics, Lohr writes.

Companies are getting into the action at a rapid pace. Glassdoor, an employment site, lists more than 7,300 openings for software engineers, ahead of job openings for nurses, who are chronically in short supply.

Employers are recruiting for immediate needs, but with the future in mind. “What we hire for is the ability to learn,” said Rachel Reinitz, an IBM distinguished engineer. “The technology changes so fast.”

It's just another facet of the ongoing war for talent, and another challenge for HR leaders who are vying to attract and retain these new converts to coding.