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does math get way too abstract+boring at degree level
hey every1,
im thinkin of doing maths as a degree, but i talked to a few people who did maths at cambridge few years ago. they mostly regretted doin maths as it was too "pure and abstract" and they didnt want to do numbers all the time.
as opposed to other sciences, they said there was too little scope for research or developments and the subject was too narrow- unlike e.g. biology where theres so many people workin on new stuff,
anyways they all ended up in boring bank jobs or computing?
does any1 agree and if so r u guys all gonna go into finance, commerce or woteva?
im thinkin of doing maths as a degree, but i talked to a few people who did maths at cambridge few years ago. they mostly regretted doin maths as it was too "pure and abstract" and they didnt want to do numbers all the time.
as opposed to other sciences, they said there was too little scope for research or developments and the subject was too narrow- unlike e.g. biology where theres so many people workin on new stuff,
anyways they all ended up in boring bank jobs or computing?
does any1 agree and if so r u guys all gonna go into finance, commerce or woteva?
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Most maths courses let you avoid more abstract pure maths if you want: for example at Cambridge you could do Maths with Physics in the first year (this means you do physics instead of one of the maths papers), and then specialise in theoretical physics (within the maths tripos) in later years. Imperial are also known for having a physics oriented maths course.
perkyDani
hey every1,
im thinkin of doing maths as a degree, but i talked to a few people who did maths at cambridge few years ago. they mostly regretted doin maths as it was too "pure and abstract" and they didnt want to do numbers all the time.
as opposed to other sciences, they said there was too little scope for research or developments and the subject was too narrow- unlike e.g. biology where theres so many people workin on new stuff,
anyways they all ended up in boring bank jobs or computing?
does any1 agree and if so r u guys all gonna go into finance, commerce or woteva?
im thinkin of doing maths as a degree, but i talked to a few people who did maths at cambridge few years ago. they mostly regretted doin maths as it was too "pure and abstract" and they didnt want to do numbers all the time.
as opposed to other sciences, they said there was too little scope for research or developments and the subject was too narrow- unlike e.g. biology where theres so many people workin on new stuff,
anyways they all ended up in boring bank jobs or computing?
does any1 agree and if so r u guys all gonna go into finance, commerce or woteva?
I think you have to accept that if you are doing a Maths degree, you are not going to be doing an awful of practical stuff. Hell, a graduate engineer won't have done an awful lot of real world problem solving so the average mathematician has no chance!
However, you can retrain and there are plenty of mathematicians who find work in statistics, experimental sciences or engineering where the combination of a maths background with the prerequisite skills of their profession can be a very desirable combination. You don't have to go into finance and the usual stuff.
perkyDani
im thinkin of doing maths as a degree, but i talked to a few people who did maths at cambridge few years ago. they mostly regretted doin maths as it was too "pure and abstract" and they didnt want to do numbers all the time.
Well, if that's how they feel then that's a pity, but this is down to personal preference. Some people prefer the applied stuff, some (like me) prefer the abstract stuff. However, the applied stuff often motivates the pure stuff and even areas classed as pure mathematics usually have a practical application nowadays.
as opposed to other sciences, they said there was too little scope for research or developments and the subject was too narrow- unlike e.g. biology where theres so many people workin on new stuff,
There's plenty of research going on in maths. It has a huge disadvantage compared to other disciplines in trying to publicise that fact though in that it's pretty much impossible to understand what that research is about without a fairly hefty maths education. I've been reading about and studying maths for a couple of years now and still find that I'm lucky if I can get to the end of the abstract of a research paper and understand what it is they're doing.
anyways they all ended up in boring bank jobs or computing?
does any1 agree and if so r u guys all gonna go into finance, commerce or woteva?
does any1 agree and if so r u guys all gonna go into finance, commerce or woteva?
I used to work in security and there's a good chance that I'll end up back in security unless I take an academic road.
..or if you really want to work outside the box...take an elective in Theology/Arabic/Law....
A little bit of interest, without loosing the presige/safty of a maths course!
love Katy***
A little bit of interest, without loosing the presige/safty of a maths course!
love Katy***
The first year of just about any maths degree is going to be pretty core, because there are just so many ideas and techniques and grounding in. The first year pure maths can be sometimes be a little dull because what they're really trying to do is to teach you how to write maths well and rigorously, as much as to teach the ideas. But in that first year you'll be doing stats/probability/mechanics/mathematical modelling/differential equations etc. etc.
Once the first year is over though a wide variety of options usually opens up. You might knock the pure maths bit but even something as abstract as number theory has plenty of applications in cryptography say. And if you really don't like the pure then there's plenty of applied areas, many of them new and rapdily growing like financial mathematics, mathematical biology, bioinformatics, mathematical genetics etc. etc.
Once the first year is over though a wide variety of options usually opens up. You might knock the pure maths bit but even something as abstract as number theory has plenty of applications in cryptography say. And if you really don't like the pure then there's plenty of applied areas, many of them new and rapdily growing like financial mathematics, mathematical biology, bioinformatics, mathematical genetics etc. etc.
RichE
what they're really trying to do is to teach you how to write maths well and rigorously, as much as to teach the ideas.
Does that mainly involve proof
hope not...that is really dull 
RichE
But in that first year you'll be doing stats/probability/mechanics/mathematical modelling/differential equations etc. etc..
they are not that boring...got to be more interesting than proof.
Is there a bit emphasis on proof in uni. If someone like me just likes doing the maths, and calcuations, are we down for the wrong course of is most of maths about learning concepts, and solving problems.
pk
Phil23
Is there a bit emphasis on proof in uni. If someone like me just likes doing the maths, and calcuations, are we down for the wrong course of is most of maths about learning concepts, and solving problems.
pk
pk
Mathematical rigour, at least for years 1 and 2, is basically what distinguishes a mathematician's education from a physicist or engineer.
i luv proof (at least the tiny bit i have done in as) and stuff like fundamental rules of math, but im not that much of a geeky math genius( eg seeing number patterns everywhere and having matrices running thru my hed all the time.
im just ur average good at math gal so im scared the step up to uni level will be way too hard for me to grasp and strain my brain 2 much
im just ur average good at math gal so im scared the step up to uni level will be way too hard for me to grasp and strain my brain 2 much
perkyDani
i luv proof (at least the tiny bit i have done in as) and stuff like fundamental rules of math, but im not that much of a geeky math genius( eg seeing number patterns everywhere and having matrices running thru my hed all the time.
im just ur average good at math gal so im scared the step up to uni level will be way too hard for me to grasp and strain my brain 2 much
im just ur average good at math gal so im scared the step up to uni level will be way too hard for me to grasp and strain my brain 2 much
You don't have to be a maths genius to get through a maths degree with a respectable grade
If you did only a handful of people would ever graduate each year!
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