Maths Work Load

To all the maths people at uni, how many hours do you work on average per week? (including lectures and classes/tutorials etc)
do you think in general, the workload for maths is more or less than other subjects ?

much as I enjoy maths, Im having doubts about whether I could cope with a degree or enjoy the style of learning.
As uni maths is comprised mainly of lectures and self study-, do you find it can sometimes get unsociable and lonely or tedious? since theres no group discussion, practicals, or vocational stuff like other subjects , it would be basically doing calculations and reading txt books all the time?
thanx for any advice

Reply 1

Ditzy

perkyDani

Ummm, I usually had about 18 hours a week or lectures/tutorials, you're expected to do a lot more outside of lectures. I seemed to be working a lot more than my friends doing BA's but not nearly as much as the people doing lab based science subjects.

I never found the work lonely, there was usually a group of us and we'd sit together in lectures and then go and find a spot in the maths department to sit and work through the problem sheets that had been set. You still do pracitcals, but they tend to be computer based investigations (mainly in the stats modules) which again, we all went in together and worked through the problems. The key to doing well is to do all the examples provided. I never found text books that helpful (although I bought quite a few) They give you the information for a different point of view, so its sometimes helpful to have a look when you don't understand a point made in lectures, but you don't do anywhere near as much reading as pther subjects

Reply 2

AMathStudent

perkyDani

About 20 hours of lectures/seminars/workshops a week. Between 5 and 20 hours on problems/assignments (less at the start, builds up when you've got a few assignments). Another 10 to 15 hours reading (most people don't do this tho!).

As uni maths is comprised mainly of lectures and self study-, do you find it can sometimes get unsociable and lonely or tedious? since theres no group discussion, practicals, or vocational stuff like other subjects , it would be basically doing calculations and reading txt books all the time?
thanx for any advice

They are useful to have around when you're working on assignments though.

If you like 'socialising' with other maths students then no, it's not lonely at all. I've wandered into the maths building at 3 or 4am before and found groups of students discussing maths and eating cold takeaways. If there's an assignment due in the next few days, there'll usually be half the class crammed into the computer rooms until the early hours and people being sent out for food and water. :smile:

There is time for normal stuff too though. One of the girls in my class was in at least half the party photos in the uni magazine, so it must be possible. :biggrin:

If you're genuinely interested in maths then it's not tedious. It's one of the best, most rewarding feelings to be able to look at something and say to yourself "that's true, and I know it's true because I just spent four hours proving it!" I thought I enjoyed maths at the beginning but now I'm totally in love with it!

Do you ever feel like at A level, you were slowly drilling holes in a wall and little bits of light were getting through? Well, going to uni is like getting a huge sledgehammer and smashing huge holes in it! That's what it feels like; everything that had been hinted at before, everything that was glossed over because it's 'beyond the scope of the course' just comes together in a huge flash. It's an amazing feeling and I think that's one of the reasons why maths is so beautiful.

A friend of mine said the other day that he'd finally cracked why I don't need a boyfriend. I was explaining to him why I love maths, and he said the way I described it, the feeling of proving something after a lot of hard work it is, apparently, like falling in love. Which is nice, I think. :redface:

Reply 3

xyro

Well,

although after I have proven something I always think "that's true, and I know it's true because I just spent four days proving it!' :redface:

Bliss ... then despair as I realize that there are still 3 of those to do and the deadline is in 2 days.

NB: I'm not doing maths at uni yet (although I'm going to this October). Those were just my experiences in a maths competition.

Reply 4

Gaz031

There are groups discussions and practicals. Like the person above said, a lot of the practical stuff is computer-based. To be honest, it's not really a case of 'basically doing calculations'. In fact, I don't think I used my calculator once this year (even in the exams!). You don't have to read loads of text books either. If we need a book, the lecturer (not all of them but some) usually gives us the page numbers that we might find useful for whatever the lecture is about. I'm just weird and enjoy reading them. They are useful to have around when you're working on assignments though.

If you like 'socialising' with other maths students then no, it's not lonely at all. I've wandered into the maths building at 3 or 4am before and found groups of students discussing maths and eating cold takeaways. If there's an assignment due in the next few days, there'll usually be half the class crammed into the computer rooms until the early hours and people being sent out for food and water. There is time for normal stuff too though. One of the girls in my class was in at least half the party photos in the uni magazine, so it must be possible.

If you're genuinely interested in maths then it's not tedious. It's one of the best, most rewarding feelings to be able to look at something and say to yourself "that's true, and I know it's true because I just spent four hours proving it!" I thought I enjoyed maths at the beginning but now I'm totally in love with it!

Do you ever feel like at A level, you were slowly drilling holes in a wall and little bits of light were getting through? Well, going to uni is like getting a huge sledgehammer and smashing huge holes in it! That's what it feels like; everything that had been hinted at before, everything that was glossed over because it's 'beyond the scope of the course' just comes together in a huge flash. It's an amazing feeling and I think that's one of the reasons why maths is so beautiful.

A friend of mine said the other day that he'd finally cracked why I don't need a boyfriend. I was explaining to him why I love maths, and he said the way I described it, the feeling of proving something after a lot of hard work it is, apparently, like falling in love. Which is nice, I think.

That's quite an inspirational post! It certainly sounds rewarding.
People doing maths at 3AM? That's insane :eek:

Reply 5

krish87

A friend of mine said the other day that he'd finally cracked why I don't need a boyfriend. I was explaining to him why I love maths, and he said the way I described it, the feeling of proving something after a lot of hard work it is, apparently, like falling in love. Which is nice, I think.

i actually am kinda in the same boat as u as to why i dont need a gf! so i know exactly how u feel!!!

Reply 6

krish87

If you like 'socialising' with other maths students then no, it's not lonely at all. I've wandered into the maths building at 3 or 4am before and found groups of students discussing maths and eating cold takeaways. If there's an assignment due in the next few days, there'll usually be half the class crammed into the computer rooms until the early hours and people being sent out for food and water. There is time for normal stuff too though. One of the girls in my class was in at least half the party photos in the uni magazine, so it must be possible.

lol in mu school we used to hang out in the school library and argue over our work and critrise each others mistakes which was fun!!!!. was fun actually only if that fat librarian lady was fine with us bending the library rules a wee bit!!!! (like dragging more chairs around the table, having coke or chicky burgers) that cos the lib is the only place in the whole school which is quite and the smell of books provide a alluring aroma!

thats one of the reasons why i enjoy maths!!!!!!

Reply 7

perkyDani

thanks for all your replies
thank you especially ditzy +amathstudent- that really was inspiring

Reply 8

Gauss

Gaz031

People doing maths at 3AM? That's insane :eek:

During the week before the examination period, I witnessed many students had completely changed their sleeping pattern - to an extent where they were waking up at 8pm and studying (in the maths central library, collectively) up until 10-11am!