Math majors?

[TridenT]

So... you'll never guess who's a math major.

Yeah-man.


Anyway, shit blows. It's pretty worthless without courses that do a lot of application. I don't think I'm going to be asking myself, "But is it Cauchy?"

I'm trying to work on a separate, more employable, skill set, but it's hard with everything else going on. I'm trying to put 10,000 hours into five separate and nearly unrelated subjects. It's not really feasible...

Anyone else graduate with a BS/BA in mathematics?

 

[TridenT]

Also, Seattle was the hottest major city in the continental US a day or two ago. What the fuck? Weirdest fucking weather here. It's been gorgeous and trying to make up for a lack of Summer the past 2 years. But, in April/July? What the hell.

Also, trying to do those 10,000 hours of work things without any motivation is really difficult. (Life is still problematic)

 

[thecrecarc]

Try Applied Math?

 

[Mixolydian]

Good god, why???

 

[TridenT]

Try Applied Math?

Different major, different things.

Taking optimization courses and modern algebra next year. Supposedly a bit more useful. Discrete math as well... some probability. Probably nothing worthwhile, in the long run.

EDIT: Also, for what I'm trying to get into, it's pretty much useless unless I do a lot of theoretical development...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Math is very hard once you get into the really complicated stuff, but if you are good at it, it probably opens quite a lot of doors for advanced jobs like aerospace (ex: Nasa) or other highly specialized sectors. EE is probably something good to take too if you want to go more on the electrical side but the advanced stuff like designing power turbines and other equipment, maintaining etc.

Math is one of those things you're either good at or you're not, so if you are may as well use it for something good! You could also look at doing your own gig, look into alternative energy and stuff like that. Being good at math will help you be able to calculate stuff before you make it. Probably more efficient than the "try something and see what happens" method I normally use.

 

[roguerower]

This coming from the guy who had problem with Calculus? Lulz.

 

[Charles Kozierok]

Many of the pioneers in the computing field were mathemeticians. What you do with it is up to you.

 

[Fayd]

This coming from the guy who had problem with Calculus? Lulz.

yeah.

a pure math degree for the OP ain't gonna happen.

 

[BrokenVisage]

Thank you for not spelling it 'maths'

 

[TridenT]

Many of the pioneers in the computing field were mathemeticians. What you do with it is up to you.

Theory. It can pay if you get a masters or PHD. Not a BS.

 

[chin311]

My wife is majoring in statistics!

 

[sjwaste]

Huh? A math degree makes you very employable. If you want to beef that up slightly, minor in business so that you're eligible for more on campus recruiting. But Math is a very versatile degree, it opens doors to fields beyond its direct application.

For instance, I am in finance for a large insurer. I currently have a need for an individual who can do some database work but also learn the business and basically figure out how the data should look/work. A math degree would tell me that the applicant is probably going to be comfortable with how the insurance product works, will probably be able to build some ETL to create the analytic tables I need, and will probably take some initiative in acquiring the skills he or she doesn't have to do those things right off the bat. After all, sticking with a math major for 4 years is a major commitment. Don't get me wrong, I still need interpersonal skills as I don't micromanage, but a math degree sets the applicant apart during the initial screen.

FWIW, I have an economics degree and a juris doctor. I'm not an economist and I no longer practice law. However, I still find my education to be very valuable on a daily basis.

 

[sjwaste]

yeah.

a pure math degree for the OP ain't gonna happen.

That's a terrible attitude. I tutored math in college, usually getting other kids who were convinced they sucked at math and there was nothing to do but suffer through their gen ed requirements and get a C. The first obstacle is mental, followed closely by DO ALL OF YOUR FUCKING HOMEWORK, YOU DONT SUCK YOU JUST DONT TRY.

And I got $20/hr for that last part. Cash. That was two 30 packs of Beast right there.

 

[Mixolydian]

That's a terrible attitude. I tutored math in college, usually getting other kids who were convinced they sucked at math and there was nothing to do but suffer through their gen ed requirements and get a C. The first obstacle is mental, followed closely by DO ALL OF YOUR FUCKING HOMEWORK, YOU DONT SUCK YOU JUST DONT TRY.

And I got $20/hr for that last part. Cash. That was two 30 packs of Beast right there.

Bullshit. Some people simply don't "have it".

 

[brianmanahan]

get into actuarial work, son

its good stuff

plus actuaries are fun people

 

[Printer Bandit]

 

[Anubis]

My wife is majoring in statistics!

stats is more valuable vs pure math, lots of people where i work have masters in applied stats. they work with the engineering groups

 

[Red Squirrel]

Bullshit. Some people simply don't "have it".

Yeah, that's me. I tried very hard in school, but I was just not good at it, and the minute something clicked, the next problem had another twist to it, that threw everything out the window again.

Interestingly things like autocad in high school, and programming in college, I'd pass with flying colors.

 

[DrPizza]

Differential equations and linear algebra. Way easy. Linear analysis and multivariable calculus? Seem like easy cakes.

Introduction to mathematical reasoning? Omfgwtf learning curve. It's not just the learning curve either. It's the fact that everything you're doing in this class requires that you've seen intricate proofs, and a whole mother fucking bitchton of them. (Hey guess what I never saw in my previous college classes? You guessed it!)

Jesus christ. The book we're using uses the most convoluted language to say the simplest of shit. When it does that, it ends up confusing the fuck out of the reader. It makes me think, "Why the fuck would you say if you could just say this?" Then, of course, the book proceeds to confuse the fuck out of you with pointless 2 line proofs. First line: Here's what I'm going to prove. Next two lines, proving it. No rhyme or reason to why the methods are done. No logic about why the person chose that over this method to prove it. There's no, "Hey, I'm doin' it this way because of X method and Y logic." It's just fucking magic. I understand the proofs, but when it comes to my turn to do the problems... I'm left going, "Oh hey... I might understand why this is, but I can't fucking prove it. You know why? Because the guy fucking magic'd his whole way through the 20 examples he did. There was no reasoning or rhyme to how you tackle problems. There was just doing."

See, just seeing doing is fine when you're learning something mechanical or very methodical. You can easily learn how the pattern works. Here, every fucking problem is quite unique. So, of course, you are left going, "Well, this is completely different than anything I've encountered before in this text. I don't know how to write any proofs because I've never seen a fully written out proof. I get to see a bunch of two line magic proofs. Boy, midterms and finals (which make up 70% of my grade) sure are going to be fucking hell."

Fuck this class. Dropping this like bass. Teacher can't help for shit. She said to the class that there is no way to tackle problems. She says that you just have to sit there and wait for the magic ah-ha moment. She recommended reading the problems before going to bed and hoping that you dream about them and come up with a solution.

What the fuck.

Mathematical insight. You don't have it.
Good luck.

For what it's worth I've started doing a unit on applied mathematics in my pre-calculus class. It's interesting to see students who maintained high 90 averages - some do quite well, some fall flat on their face. While they're able to solve similar problems - once they've seen an example - they have great difficulty in approaching problems not similar to ones they've done before - and they have all the background knowledge they should need to answer those problems. For example, a man can run 8 miles per hour, and swim 2 miles per hour. He's 3 miles north of the shoreline of a long lake (we'll make the lake a rectangle to keep the geometry easy.) He has to reach a point on the opposite shore of the lake 8 miles to the west. The lake is one mile wide. Find the fastest route.
No clue how to solve it. But then after seeing that problem solved, if I changed the numbers, solving it becomes trivial to them. For fun, change that lake into a river, put the guy on a bicycle at 20 mph, and the river flows at 4mph (he can still swim 2mph). It's fun to see all the trig pop out.

 

[Capt Caveman]

This coming from the guy who had problem with Calculus? Lulz.

No kidding. Why not save our tax dollars and just go work at 7-11? No motivation, no intelligence, no personality, what a waste...

Mathematical insight. You don't have it.

Good luck.

:biggrin:

 

[Mixolydian]

No kidding. Why not save our tax dollars and just go work at 7-11? No motivation, no intelligence, no personality, what a waste...

Or major in Women's Studies.

 

[TridenT]

Mathematical insight. You don't have it.

Good luck.

That professor was terrible. The one I got in Fall was way better and proofs became much easier.

It was a course that was one of those things where the teacher can easily make or break the course.

 

[silverpig]

Math is one of the least immediately useful degrees for getting a job, but probably the most useful skillset to have in the workplace.

You can teach a mathematician simple business concepts, but you can't teach someone with a BA in econ advanced math ideas.

 

[Fayd]

That's a terrible attitude. I tutored math in college, usually getting other kids who were convinced they sucked at math and there was nothing to do but suffer through their gen ed requirements and get a C. The first obstacle is mental, followed closely by DO ALL OF YOUR FUCKING HOMEWORK, YOU DONT SUCK YOU JUST DONT TRY.

And I got $20/hr for that last part. Cash. That was two 30 packs of Beast right there.

this isn't gen ed req math we're talking about. some people will not get advanced math, and i'm pretty sure the OP is one.