Cryptography

14

Hey,

I'm currently thinking about what job I wish to aim for when I'm older and therefore what degree I want to do.

The only degrees I'm considering are:
Maths
Maths w/ Computing Science (only a tiny bit of CS)

I am hoping to get a PhD (or at least study at postgraduate level) for something like Computational Maths or Cryptography. Which degree would you recommend for these research posts?

Also, which jobs would be best for me (based on the degrees and research I'm considering).

Thanks in Advance
Tom

Reply 1

hubarabsprog

Why don't you ask GCHQ - they are into this kind of thing.
www.gchq.gov.uk

Reply 2

Taldarion

I'm really interested in this stuff as well. I was looking into what i could do with a maths degree and this was one that came up. I expect that Maths si the way to go.

Reply 3

marabara

1

if you're wanting to do cryptography in the future then you have to do maths

Reply 4

Alaric

10

TomX

Hey,

I'm currently thinking about what job I wish to aim for when I'm older and therefore what degree I want to do.

The only degrees I'm considering are:
Maths
Maths w/ Computing Science (only a tiny bit of CS)

I am hoping to get a PhD (or at least study at postgraduate level) for something like Computational Maths or Cryptography. Which degree would you recommend for these research posts?

Also, which jobs would be best for me (based on the degrees and research I'm considering).

Thanks in Advance
Tom

Sorry, it's taken me a while to get around to this post.

Yeah, basically Maths is the only sensible way to get into cryptography. If you're wanting to hedge your bets a bit for jobs then Maths w/ CS would be pretty sensible imo (but then I am just finishing a CS degree :wink:

). I say this because there really aren't that many jobs designing cryptographic primitives (which it sounds like you want to do) and that Maths is the most useful for, it's crypto-protocols et cetera that seem to have the most jobs and for that a good CS degree might be more sensible. I see that area going more into formal logics and verification and that's more the realm of CS than Maths, but the distinction really only kicks in at graduate level at the moment and it's hard to see where it's going to be in 5 years.

So basically, just make sure that it is the cryptographic primitives you are going to be wanting to do the work on and not the crypto protocols or more general compsec/infosec so that you pick the right degree. At your age I said I was pretty interested in Cryptography, but what I really meant was actually cryptosystems and more general compsec. As I've learned more about this (on a CS degee) I've realised I made the right decision.

If you do Maths w/CS tripos at Cam (if you get in there) then it should be pretty easy at the end of your first year to go either way and that gives you plenty of time to decide whether you really do want to just do primitives.

Anyhow, best of luck,

Alaric.

PS: Jobs wise, there's plenty for cryptosystems and protocols, the number of places for primitives outside academia seems pretty small. Off the top of my head there's RSA labs, AT&T, IBM Zurich, GCHQ, Qinetiq, Counterpane, Microsoft and a few other smaller specialised places; it's much more limited but as I say, up until grad level it should be pretty easy to move around. Then again, with a degree in Maths there's plenty to do even if you don't use your further studies...

Cryptography

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