Timeline for What to do after a pure math academic path?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
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| Oct 27, 2022 at 13:41 | comment | added | R.P. | I would describe this as taking a professional attitude to your work (I am basing this on what I've learnt from Robert C. Martin, whom I admire a great deal). I don't always do this, but I aspire to it. And I think this is where you can actually get the same kind of enjoyment that you get from doing mathematics on a high level. | |
| Oct 27, 2022 at 13:39 | comment | added | R.P. | As for programming skills, I would say I had quite a bit of programming experience, but not so much programming skills. Programming is harder than you might think. In mathematics, one way we learn is by not shying away from the very basic questions, e.g. "What is a real number?" and then ending up with Cauchy sequences or Dedekind cuts. Likewise, in programming one should force oneself to attend to the details. If you made a mistake, go back and analyze it, what was the real moment when the mistake was made? I do not always do this, by any means, but when I do it pays off. | |
| Oct 27, 2022 at 13:36 | comment | added | R.P. | @coco As for your other questions, I can't say that I'm happy with my job. I guess I am still figuring things out. The question you raise (and some of the answers you got) have really made me think, and I just wanted to share my own story. Particularly the point made by Kapil about our demand for a job that is commensurate with our qualifications (and frankly, isn't this part of the reason we embarked on higher education in the first place?). I wonder how liberating it would be to let go of that demand. But honestly I wouldn't know what I'd do even if I let go of it. | |
| Oct 27, 2022 at 13:24 | comment | added | R.P. | @coco I could probably more accurately describe myself as a web developer. I develop .NET web applications for a decent-sized company, think online shopping, B2B apps, and the CRM app for internal use. It has absolutely zero to do with mathematics. But there is a lot of creative problem solving involved, and the more experience you have, the more you get to see that. | |
| Oct 26, 2022 at 14:36 | comment | added | coco | @RP_ many thanks for sharing your story. What kind of software do you develop? Are you happy in your job? Did you have programming skills before or you learnt on the spot? | |
| Oct 23, 2022 at 9:41 | comment | added | Astrid | Also, on the soulless front - you can find jobs where you're doing meaningful work in tech, it just takes some effort, may mean you need to make sacrifices in other areas (chosen programming language, amount of tech debt, location, salary, etc.), and it's possible you can only be that selective once you have experience under your belt. But among others I've worked on software for healthcare and public transport and very much felt we were creating something meaningful that would help people. | |
| Oct 23, 2022 at 9:30 | comment | added | Astrid | +1 software developer (I left academia after my algebra PhD). I recommend getting into functional programming if you can - I'm a Scala dev now - since this uses category theory and is generally more abstract and mathematical in a way that works well for someone with a maths background. But programming in general scratches the same problem-solving-using-logical-deduction itch that I loved about doing maths. It's just that the problems are much smaller and more tractable, which on the one hand means the highs don't compare but on the other means you don't get stuck nearly as long (IME). | |
| Oct 22, 2022 at 14:17 | comment | added | wizzwizz4 | It's also a really really hard problem. Computers have side-channels that the manufacturers insist don't exist. Worthwhile, too, if you think cryptography's better to have than not. | |
| Oct 22, 2022 at 8:14 | history | made wiki | Post Made Community Wiki by R.P. | ||
| Oct 22, 2022 at 7:31 | comment | added | j.p. | Within the big area of SW-development I'd point out that for people strong in mathematics implementing/developing cryptographic algorithms (likely protected against side-channel attacks) is a fun topic where learning to program the right programming language(s) and the necessary cryptographic background shouldn't be hard for a math PhD. | |
| Oct 22, 2022 at 7:14 | history | answered | R.P. | CC BY-SA 4.0 |