Thursday, October 05, 2006

Why Math...?

So as you have already guessed the first thing that pisses me off is when people ask me "What is there to do with a math degree other than teach?" Now this is somewhat understandable because the image that we seem to get from others is that your college major defines what you will do with your life. I would know about this since my mom majored in an agricultural field while in college and now she is working for the government and her work has NOTHING to do with agriculture. Well here is why I want to major in mathematics. First off you can do just about anything, since employers will see that you majored in math and realize that you have strong analytical skills. Now what kind of company doesn't want an employee with analytical skills? Personally I want to pursue a career that will in some way be tied to the financial world. Honestly all you need to do is take finance and economics classes to show that you have some understanding of the topics.
As for the careers that interest me you are almost required to take a large series of mathematics and non-mathematics classes. One choice I am considering is becoming an acuter (to learn more about this profession visit www.beanactuary.com). In order to be an acknowledged acuter there are a series of rigorous test that one must pass. Most of these test have a passing rate that is no higher than 30%. Another option is trying to become an Quantitative Analyst. (This is comparable to a trader in many ways) For this it is very beneficial to have "some understanding" of economics and computer programming.
If for some reason I change my mind about what to do there is always the ability to use knowledge gained from my other non-math classes. Sure I could be a math teacher but really I do not have the kind of patience to teach kids, and as for being a professor I would have to teach an upper level class so that I am teaching only people who actually want to be in the class or can at least pretend to find it interesting.
So I guess the next time someone ask me "What can you do with a math degree other than teach?" I think I will answer with "What ever the fuck I want...now that I think about it I think I will take the job that you want."


Now for the video:

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

that guy in the video was good.

I think we're going to come up to visit you next Friday, when we have the day off...just so you know.

have a nice day!
your sister.