Is There a Future With a Career in Mathematics?

Is there a future with a career in Mathematics?

Often described irreverently as a dry, brow-furrowing subject, careers and education in math have been put in the corner by physics and engineering buffs for centuries. In reality, math has fueled hundreds of innovations, from the moon landing to professional gambling strategy. Regardless of whether you’re in Vegas, math class, or anywhere else, math has undoubtedly impacted your life and will continue to do so.

The earliest study and use of mathematics dates back to the ancient Africans, Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese, and Aztecs. These civilizations had such profound insights that some speculate they had help from aliens. They used papyrus, bone, and other mediums to record their astrological predictions, early calendars, and sequences. The Greeks found a “golden ratio” and assigned the symbol φ to denote the proportion, a number found throughout nature and emulated in art. The Egyptians used hieroglyphics to mathematically express their early ideas about time, space, and other mystical subjects of their day. So it went with every other civilization until today’s conception of mathematics was formed.

Mathematicians solicit their services to companies that need their expertise to narrow demographics, assess the chances of certain events happening, and create their own niche in the field by coining a formula or theory of their own. Leonardo Fibonacci, creator of the famed Fibonacci sequence, made such a mark since his contributions in the 19th century. His sequence, 1,1,2,3,5, 8, 13, 21, and so on, uses the sum of the two latest numbers to create the third number. It’s known as a “recursive” sequence, and like the Greeks’ “golden ratio” has numerous applications in nature.

Euclid, founder of “Euclid’s Elements,” wrote an entire series of books on geometry and number theory, outlining the major theorems of early geometry. His work also encompasses optics and musical theory.

So what is math even good for today? A slew of major industries such as insurance, computer science, space exploration, restaurants, education, military, music, and dozens of others depend on math to assess probability, calculate risk, and more. Applied mathematics, better explained at Brown University’s website, has produced logarithms that help marketers predict consumers’ reactions to branding techniques. The field also has endless implications for the common man.

When at the store, for example, math is essential for tabulating costs while shopping, adding on tax, and offering the correct amounts of change. Sports fans need math to bet, follow games, and govern their fantasy football teams. Without math, society wouldn’t be able to determine risk, probability, or any kind of statistics, rendering the world’s leaders completely clueless and vulnerable. Finally, math drives innovations in science, physics, chemistry, and other disciplines that branch off from it.

Everyday conveniences mean little, however, to the money-minded individual. So what do math degrees offer in concerns careers? The applied practices of actuarial science, research, computer technology, biomathematics, economics, and more are all available to math majors as viable career options. The Mathematical Association of America offers ample information for math-motivated graduates and students to get a solid start.

Actuaries use advanced logarithms and formulas to predict the probability of certain events, provide and analyze statistics, and advise action on the part of their clients. Insurance companies especially are prime consumers of this information, as their entire business hedges on risk factors. Depending on what kind of outlook the actuaries give them, insurance companies know to quote a higher premium for the bungee jumper with a drug habit than the librarian mother of four. Constantly rated within the top five careers to pursue, actuaries enjoy generous compensation and immense job satisfaction.

Little did you know while you dragged your feet in school that strong research can easily lead to a six-figure career. Mathematicians especially are called on for their ability to gather, analyze, interpret, and compute statistics so that business leaders, safety managers, public officials, and more can implement effective actions. Management science or operations research in particular is the use of math to streamline cost and maximize revenue for management personnel.

An immaculate fusion of both math and biology, biomathematics is basically the recreation of biological phenomena using mathematical proportions, equations, and other techniques. The results have been applied in genetics, microbiology, neurobiology, and other fields. The Society for Mathematical Biology goes into great detail about the educational requirements for this career path.

In economics, math is used to accurately project or predict trends, formulate theories, detect proportions, and much more. Regardless of the market or the scale of observation, the use of mathematical models gives a formal picture to the possible effects of stimulation, monopolization, and other economic actions. As number-savvy economists have asserted in the past, math is essential in economics as both a calculator and a language.

Finally, if math is truly your passion, the best way to get paid for doing what you love is to become a mathematician. This career is very much alive in business, science, engineering, finance, insurance, and more. Mathematicians use their knowledge and skills to theorize, analyze, and advise their clients based on their research and computations. This work can range from creating encryption systems for the military to formulating entirely new laws of mathematics. With an excellent job outlook and a median salary of more than $80,000, mathematicians lead the frontier of enthusiastic “mathletes.”

Yes, math is old and less glamorous than physics and engineering but neither of those fields would exist without mathematical principles. In every facet of life, in fact, math will always have a pivotal role. It is always melding into new areas of the human experience and will continue to do so. With more math-related careers arising every day, the era of the number-punching, eraser-munching “nerd” is here to stay.