Questions tagged [career]
For questions about careers and jobs in mathematics (inside and outside academia)
178 questions
75
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What items MUST appear on a mathematician's CV?
Writing a CV makes me paranoid that I'm failing to abide by unwritten rules. Of course CVs are flexible to capture the diversity of accomplishments someone might have. But there must be plenty of ...
16
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12
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How seriously should a graduate student take teaching evaluations? [closed]
Pretty much the question in the title. If a grad student gets bad reviews as a TA, how much does that hurt them later? How much do good reviews help? What if the situation is more complex? (For ...
35
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3
answers
5k
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Dealing with unwanted co-authorship requests
This post is a sequel to: Collaboration or acknowledgment?
The following has come to my attention. A senior mathematician (let us call him or her Alice) suggested a problem to a young mathematician (...
76
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6
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Are there examples of (successful) NSF mathematics proposals available anywhere online?
As anyone who has ever applied to the NSF for a grant knows, such a proposal is a slightly odd piece of writing, not quite like anything else mathematicians are called upon to write. As such, it's a ...
0
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1
answer
284
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What will stand in for the JMM Employment Center this year?
The Joint Mathematics Meetings will be virtual this year, and there is no indication of there being an Employment Center (virtual or otherwise). What is the story with the Employment Center? Will it ...
73
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7
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7k
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When should you, and should you not, share your mathematical ideas?
Perhaps this is a biased forum for this "downer" question, but I've never figured this out. At what stage is it safe to share mathematical ideas? Many have told me that there is serious danger of ...
23
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3
answers
3k
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Adapting arguments and plagiarism
I'm currently working on my PhD thesis. I have several suggested problems to work on, some of them are very similar to some problems that my advisor have worked before and published already, either in ...
54
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8
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6k
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Proper way to deal with papers you've already refereed.
This question is anonymous for obvious reasons.
I referee what feels like a decent number of papers (though I don't know how many is normal!), and I try to take it seriously. Sometimes, based on ...
3
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1
answer
577
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What kind of work experience should be included in a math CV for PhD programs?
I am applying to numerous PhD programs in number theory for admission next fall and I want to have a CV prepared, in part because I want to attach a CV to emails I send out to professors at some of my ...
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10
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2
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2k
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Can learning Riemann surfaces be more beneficial than numerical analysis for an analyst?
I am in master program of mathematics, specialized in PDE and numerical analysis. Now I am trying to decide which classes to take for next semester. Of course I want to become an expert in my field, ...
8
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1
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1k
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Transitioning from pure mathematics to applied mathematics/machine learning
I recently completed a doctorate in pure mathematics. While in the program, I decided that research was not my ultimate goal/calling. Applied mathematics and machine learning seemed to grab my ...
17
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2
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2k
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Research and exposition: how does writing "basic" books affect your "serious" research work?
I can see the benefit of writing a mathematical monograph: you revise and organize your own work and recollect the key ideas of your own research. But this applies only to books aimed at researchers ...
31
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11
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Switching Research Fields
I am a recent PhD specializing in algebraic geometry. But I also want to do research in some other areas of math (e.g. quantum computation, compressed sensing, and PDE's). What would be a good way of ...
47
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10
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9k
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Tools for Organizing Papers?
Much like a previous question on keeping research notes organized, my question is how people keep their pile of papers organized. I've got a stack of about 100 in my office, most of them classifying ...
55
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5
answers
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Advice for pure-math Phd students [closed]
Pursuing a Phd in pure math can be a daunting task. A number of students who begin a Phd in pure math don't complete it, and there are high-quality dissertations and those which are not so high ...
30
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4
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7k
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When to start reviewing
Recently I had a few papers published, and I suppose in response to this, I received a request from Zentralblatt to be a reviewer. They ask some general questions about what I would feel comfortable ...
24
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8
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6k
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Does your dissertation matter for industry research jobs?
Suppose Mr A. is a graduate student who, for some reason, does not want to go into teaching or academic research. Mr A. did a Doctoral dissertation, but it is in a narrow area. This area is not ...
49
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4
answers
6k
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How much reading do you do before you attack a problem?
When going off on a tangent from your regular area, where, presumably, you have such mastery of all cutting-edge research from your routine reading that you hardly need to do any extra (if this is ...
36
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7
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14k
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Changing Careers: Becoming a Professional Mathematician
First, I apologize if this question is too soft or doesn't comport precisely with what is considered a good question, but I know of no other place to ask it.
A little background: I obtained an ...
31
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7
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14k
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Advice on doing mathematical research [closed]
Please share any general tips or advice you have on doing mathematical research.
How do you identify good problems to work on or to think about? What do you do when you get stuck on a problem? Etc.
10
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1
answer
2k
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How many graduate students in mathematics are there worldwide?
There is already a question about the number of research mathematicians here, but I was wondering :
is it possible to estimate the number of graduate students in mathematics worldwide in 2019 ? (...
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22
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7
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3k
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Where to find (personal) motivation [closed]
I think it would be appropriate to make this question CW...
It is likely that this question will not survive here on MO for long, but I do hope that the community gives it a chance. I also hope to ...
49
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3
answers
13k
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how to use arxiv?
This is a soft question. How do people usually use arxiv to put their papers? At which stage does one usually put his/her paper/report there? Someone suggests me to submit a paper while putting it on ...
16
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12
answers
18k
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How important are publications for undergrads?
I have heard vastly conflicting statements about whether undergrads applying for PhD programs should have published already, or what level of research will be expected of them. Looking at CVs of some ...
16
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1
answer
2k
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Ways to help a math PhD out of depression [closed]
I have a friend who is having trouble in his math PhD career and is recently down with depression. He has decided to take a break from research and receive some medication. To help him recover faster ...
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22
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6
answers
2k
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When to split/merge papers?
I ran into the following problem. I have some lengthy paper in which I develop some theory to attack some problem. While I was working on this paper, I got some nice result which might interest a ...
29
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9
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4k
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Can breadth hurt a job candidate? [closed]
I am a junior mathematician, currently on the job market. I have been involved in a number of projects spread over several very different topics of mathematics, some being very mathematical projects ...
40
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9
answers
11k
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What can an algebraic geometer do outside academia? [closed]
This question is inspired by this
and this. But it is not a duplicate, read on. Please don't close it: I choose to be anonymous just not to be identified.
About to be on the job market, disenchanted ...
0
votes
1
answer
828
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Applying Phd directly after undergraduate [closed]
I'm a math undergraduate and I'm about to finish my second year at UCL. It's time to consider my graduate school, and I have some questions about it. In the UK, many universities provide math PhD ...
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11
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2
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How to organize collaborations? Managing shared library and LaTeX document
What is an effective way to organize collaborations with several people on the same paper? How do you arrange the $\LaTeX$ document, the shared (digital) papers library, and other aspects?
More in ...
8
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0
answers
2k
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How difficult will it be to start doing research in pure mathematics in the near future? [closed]
I am a first year PhD student in mathematics (complex differential and Kahler Geometry) and the other day I had a thought about the difficulty of starting to do research. This is my first post here ...
9
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1
answer
677
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how mathematicians do research? [closed]
I am a first-year physics graduate student with a deep interest in mathematics. I am specifically interested in algebraic geometry and algebraic topology, and I would like to employ advanced ...
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12
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1
answer
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What would you do if you improve your own result that is submitted but not published?
Here is a hypothetical situation:
You have proven a result and written up a paper about it. You have submitted your article to some journal and it is being reviewed.
While you are waiting, you have ...
29
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3
answers
4k
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Etiquette of publishing folklore results
I am wondering what is the etiquette of publishing a "folklore" result?
Though special cases of the result are well-known, the proof is not readily available in any reference text or paper I've seen....
3
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2
answers
661
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Which fields of mathematics are most straightforward for a statistician to do research in, other than probability theory?
I have a Ph.D. in Statistics and have always been interested in pure mathematics, but never had a chance to really pursue it. My mathematics background includes real analysis, linear algebra, ...
46
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8
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How hard is it to get tenure in mathematics?
My curiousity provoked by this question and Igor's answer, I'd like to know: how many mathematics PhD's who want to get a tenured job as a research mathematician actually get that job?
As a first ...
52
votes
4
answers
8k
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Changing field of study post-PhD
I am doing my PhD in algebraic graph theory, for not much more reason than that was what was available. However, I love deep structure and theory in mathematics, and I do not particularly want to be ...
17
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8
answers
4k
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Plagiarism in the community [closed]
I am a graduate student thinking about some stuff.
1) If I have an idea for a result but it is not yet complete, is it advisable to mention it to others (especially more experienced people)? Is it ...
1
vote
1
answer
927
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What qualities and achievements can outweigh bad grades? [closed]
I will try to formulate my question so that the answer is not opinion-based.
My question: Considering a undergraduate math student planning to pursue a PhD program, what qualities and achievements can ...
user173409
14
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1
answer
3k
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A paper seems to have completely disappeared from editor's hands
I have submitted a paper to a journal on June 2017. The corresponding author is my coauthor. The first response of the editor was after a year, June 2018:
Your paper has been sent, consecutively, ...
29
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5
answers
5k
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Collaboration or acknowledgment?
This post is a sequel of: When should a supervisor be a co-author?
This time the topic is about the interaction between two professional mathematicians (in particular junior-senior, but not ...
8
votes
4
answers
7k
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Computational algebra: where?
I'm on my last semester of a math B.Sc. and about to start studying for a math M.Sc in the same institute.
It now seems like a good time to start thinking of a PhD.
I'm interested in both algebra and ...
29
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14
answers
2k
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Webpages for specialized communities
First, my apology for this soft question. My excuse was that I really think this may be of interest to the community. I would understand if it gets closed (I have advocated closing some soft questions ...
0
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1
answer
769
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Is it all right to invite a professor to cowrite a paper
I managed to improve the techniques of a year-old paper to get a significantly stronger result. I used original ideas, but a large part relies upon results of the original paper. (to the point that ...
19
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10
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Research Experience for Undergraduates: Summer Programs
Some time ago, I found this list of REU programs held in 2009.
The main aspects that characterize such programs are: (a) a great deal of lectures on specific topics; and, admittedly more importantly,...
10
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5
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Reference letters for teaching positions
I've been told that when applying for a teaching position, your reference letters can be written by anyone who is familiar with your teaching capabilities in detail. I feel that this primarily just ...
16
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12
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7k
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Which magazines should I read? [closed]
Suppose you are a mathematics student who has just graduated and you haven't yet come to graduate school, or maybe you are in your first year of graduate school. Which magazines should you read? I ...
3
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0
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870
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How to find research topics in Linear Algebra in Graph Theory [closed]
Note: My first question in this site. MSE users asked me to post this question here for better response
I am a Masters student in Pure Mathematics.
I need to do a Masters thesis in "Linear Algebra ...
user101506
11
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1
answer
1k
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Use of an appendix in a long paper
I am writing a long paper (around 100 pages). I would consider 50 pages of it interesting in that it solves a problem of some significance in my field and contains an number of difficult ideas in the ...
10
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9
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29k
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Starting PhD at the age of 25 [closed]
For over an year I have otherwise been pretty active on MathOverflow but for this question I would like to remain anonymous.
I would be starting my grad school in Fall 2011 in the US while in the ...