Careers with Math
Math is useful whenever there are patterns, relationships, or structure we'd like to describe, understand, and make use of. This is the case in essentially every field of study, and correspondingly, questions involving non-trivial mathematics come up in a wide variety of contexts. For example...
How can we animate a character (say Dash from The Incredibles) in a more computationally efficient way?
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How can we train a computer to recognize a person's face from different angles? How can we build a better search engine?
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Using measurements collected on the outside of an object (say a human torso or the earth), how can we obtain an image of what's inside?
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How should we arrange the orbits of GPS satellites for maximum coverage area?
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How can we pack a solar panel into a container the size of a refrigerator box, but have it unfold to a disk 200 feet in diameter?
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How can we describe the folding of proteins, and how can we design a protein to behave in a certain way? How can we stimulate insulin producing cells?
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What's an efficient way to encode data so that when we send transmissions, any errors can be found and fixed?
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How should a company like Facebook or City Market sort and understand all their revenue data? Are there any natural ways to group their customers?
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How can an online company distinguish between its business customers and its private consumers from gift card messages?
How can we build a better fluid filter? |
How can we make clothing and hair look more natural in animation? (what about water?)
Where are the safest places for Japan to store its nuclear waste? |
(the videos above are all from PICMath - you can see some more indepth videos on these problems here)
Paths
All of the examples above are examples of applied math, i.e. math that's motivated by a real-world problem. It's also perfectly valid to study the patterns, relationships, and structure of mathematical objects for their own sake - without any real-world application in mind - this is the path of the theoretical (or "pure") mathematician.
The path of the theoretical mathematician is pretty straightforward: go to graduate school, get your PhD in math, probably do some post-doctoral work, then get a tenure-track position at a university.
In contrast, the path of an applied mathematician can take a lot of different forms. If you choose your classes and senior project strategically (see below), you can attract a company's attention right out of college. Or you might go to grad school and get a masters degree, then jump into industry. Or you could get your PhD, then have the option of going into industry or working at a university and consulting on the side. Sometimes after working for a certain amount of time, employers will even pay for you to continue your education, so that's something to look for and take advantage of.
The path of the theoretical mathematician is pretty straightforward: go to graduate school, get your PhD in math, probably do some post-doctoral work, then get a tenure-track position at a university.
In contrast, the path of an applied mathematician can take a lot of different forms. If you choose your classes and senior project strategically (see below), you can attract a company's attention right out of college. Or you might go to grad school and get a masters degree, then jump into industry. Or you could get your PhD, then have the option of going into industry or working at a university and consulting on the side. Sometimes after working for a certain amount of time, employers will even pay for you to continue your education, so that's something to look for and take advantage of.
Math + ______
If being an applied mathematician sounds interesting, it's important to branch out from your core math classes in some strategic ways. For example, some programming and statistics classes would not hurt at all. In fact, the director of the Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics, Dr. Michael Dorff, has talked with over a hundred different company recruiters and asked them "What should math students do to get a job?" and their answers boiled down to four things:
To elaborate a bit, if you think you might be interested in being a computational biologist, a great way to "broaden your horizons" would be to get a biology minor and take some programming classes (and major in applied math). Or if being a data analyst sounds like fun, maybe get a math major with statistics concentration and a minor in computer science. The bottom line is to get a foundation in the field you'd like to apply math to so that you're not starting from square one when trying to interact with your team members and tackle your research problem.
- Coding - "can they program?"
- Communication skills/Soft skills - "can they write and speak well?"
- Independent project/internship - "can they tackle a project and produce quality, professional results on their own?"
- Broaden horizons - "have they taken classes that give them a broader perspective than just math?"
To elaborate a bit, if you think you might be interested in being a computational biologist, a great way to "broaden your horizons" would be to get a biology minor and take some programming classes (and major in applied math). Or if being a data analyst sounds like fun, maybe get a math major with statistics concentration and a minor in computer science. The bottom line is to get a foundation in the field you'd like to apply math to so that you're not starting from square one when trying to interact with your team members and tackle your research problem.
Resources
Here are a few links to get you set up with more information, resources, and opportunities.
Career Descriptions
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Math Companies and Resources
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Jobs Today
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