Questions tagged [career]
For questions about careers and jobs in mathematics (inside and outside academia)
178 questions
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On what basis does a paper get accepted into a top journal?
Since the initial question was closed, but seems to be attracting a lot of discussion even after the fact, some of the comments qualifying as full answers IMO, I believe it is a reasonable question to ...
15
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6
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What does keep you "doing what you do"? [closed]
I am towards the end of my Phd (with some difficultues to overcome, I can say I am really satisfied about it) and I was wondering about what to do next. There are basically two paths: academia or ...
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3
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How to write mathematics without typing?
What solutions exist for mathematicians who need to write papers, but can't type? (I'm an early-career research mathematician and I can't type for the next few months.)
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10
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What do you do when you're stuck?
I'm pretty sure almost all mathematicians have been in a situation where they found an interesting problem; they thought of many different ideas to tackle the problem, but in all of these ideas, there ...
338
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16
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What's a mathematician to do?
I have to apologize because this is not the normal sort of question for this site, but there have been times in the past where MO was remarkably helpful and kind to undergrads with similar types of ...
15
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3
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Research in mathematics without a degree in mathematics
This question might not make much sense or be a big deal for someone but I genuinely would like to know the opinions.
I am currently a software developer in a small start-up. I had to drop out of ...
7
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3
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What are journal rankings that employers look at? [closed]
What are journal rankings that employers look at?
There are few questions on this topic already, but I don't think they fully address my question. Please close this one if it is not appropriate for ...
74
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8
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What to do after a pure math academic path?
I don't know whether my question is in the appropriate place. I've studied physics, and then did a PhD in (pure) math and 2 postdocs. I definitely love math research, but I am not ready to apply all ...
164
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21
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When should a supervisor be a co-author?
What are people's views on this? To be specific: suppose a PhD student has produced a piece of original mathematical research. Suppose that student's supervisor suggested the problem, and gave a few ...
36
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15
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Is pure mathematics useful outside of mathematics itself? [closed]
From time to time Mathoverflow allows soft questions because they are arguably best answered by active mathematicians and they can benefit other mathematicians/PhD students/math undergraduates. I ...
31
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Research-only permanent positions worldwide
Most academic jobs involve some amount of teaching. Post-docs generally do not, but they are only short-term positions.
Question: in which countries can one obtain a research-only permanent ...
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Are there grants supporting sabbatical year in US? [closed]
I am a tenured mathematician at a university outside of the US. I would be interested to spend my sabbatical year in one of the US universities.
Are there grants I can apply to partially support my ...
26
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8
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Is it possible to start a PhD in mathematics at the age of 29? [duplicate]
I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. I was initially focused on branches in analysis like operator algebra. At the third year of my undergraduate study, I experienced a financial ...
51
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8
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The "derived drift" is pretty unsatisfying and dangerous to category theory (or at least, to me) [closed]
I'm currently a young, not-so-young mathematician, finishing its second postdoc. I developed an interest for rather different topics in the last few years but constantly, slowly converged towards ...
158
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8
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Resources for mathematics advising.
This question is possibly ill-advised. (If it is not right for this site I will delete it.)
I, suddenly, have students.
It is very clear to me that there is nothing in my education that has ...
175
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8
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How to escape the inclination to be a universalist or: How to learn to stop worrying and do some research.
As an undergraduate we are trained as mathematicians to be universalists. We are expected to embrace a wide spectrum of mathematics. Both algebra and analysis are presented on equal footing with ...
18
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4
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What are the "hot" topics in mathematical QFT at the time?
I am currently finishing my Master's studies in mathematical physics. One topic which always interested me a lot were modern mathematical approaches to Quantum Field Theory (QFT) as well as the ...
110
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9
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How do you not forget old math?
I am trying to not forget my old math. I finished my PhD in real algebraic geometry a few years ago and then switched to the industry for financial reasons. Now I get the feeling that I want to do a ...
136
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14
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Careers advice for Ph.D.s without current postdocs or university jobs
Hi,
I'm sure I'm not the only Ph.D. mathematician on MO in serious need of career advice. I'm sure there will be other readers in similar situations, who will find any good advice very helpful. Can ...
104
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12
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Where are mathematics jobs advertised if not on mathjobs (e.g. in Europe and elsewhere)?
My impression is that in the US, there is a canonical place for finding math jobs, namely mathjobs.org. For those of us who live and apply for jobs elsewhere, life is more complicated, and searching ...
2
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0
answers
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How to handle a research identity crisis
I have studied applied math and got a PhD (3yrs) in that field with applications in fluid dynamics. Then in my first postdoc (1.5yrs) I did again a postdoc in applied math but studied applications in ...
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31
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Pros and cons of specializing in an esoteric research area
If a mathematician specializes in a popular research area, then there are many job positions available, but at the same time, many competitors who are willing to get such job positions. For an ...
44
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3
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A second Ph.D. in mathematics?
I have now some problems about my research Career, I would like to tell my stories. I am a Chinese guy, but now a Ph.D. candidate in Germany, in the field of so called 'Geometric Analysis', but I do ...
80
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7
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Teaching statements for math jobs?
What is the purpose of the "teaching statement" or "statement of teaching philosophy" when applying for jobs, specifically math postdocs? I am applying for jobs, and I need to write one of these ...
59
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12
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What areas of pure mathematics research are best for a post-PhD transition to industry?
I have a student who is looking to start a PhD in pure mathematics. She is talented and motivated, and will do quite well. She is still in a phase of her development where she is still open to the ...
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1
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Amount of mathematical knowledge required for starting Ph.D. in pure mathematics [closed]
How much mathematics should one know before starting a Ph.D. program in pure mathematics? For example what topics one must understand well to pursue a Ph.D. in US University in Number Theory (...
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How does one build and refine strong technical skills relevant to research?
I am an early career researcher working in an area of "hard" analysis, but this is a fairly broad question. My technical skills are likely below par and my greatest hindrance to my research ...
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43
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Research topics restricted to students at top universities?
Hello everybody.
I am a Ph.D student in North America looking for advice about my prospective research area.
My supervisor works in a research area, let's say area A, so as soon as I was accepted as ...
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1
answer
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Publication Of 50 pages [closed]
Does anyone know of a research journal in mathematics that is willing to publish 50 pages of peer-review research? I would like to submit research that explores how to develop predicate models for ...
5
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4
answers
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Funding programs for mathematical research [closed]
In the USA, as far as I know, the main grants available to mathematicians are collected on the NSF or the AMS websites [please, correct me if this perception is inaccurate]. On the other hand, for ...
13
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3
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Is computer algebra or symbolic computation an active area of research?
I'm interested in doing PhD in computer algebra or symbolic computation, and was wondering if this is an active area of research? Would this area of research also help me in the transition to ...
122
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16
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How do you keep your research notes organized? [closed]
One of the things I struggle with most in doing research is keeping my notes organized. Since research tends to do a lot of branching, keeping notes in a linear fashion seems useless to me. On the ...
2
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3
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What kind of jobs are available for a quantum logician?
What kind of jobs are there for someone with a strong, research-level theoretical background in the topic? I'm especially interested in the industry rather than academic jobs.
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What math institutes offer research in pairs/research in teams?
Some math institutes offer programs in which a small number of researchers are enabled to meet at the institute for a week or more. A list seemed as if it could be useful.
92
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2
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Coming out as transgender in the mathematical community
I don't know if MO is the right place to ask such a question, but anyway it's my only hope to get an answer, and it's very important for me (not to say 'vital'); so let's try.
I'm at this time a Ph.D....
61
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4
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Is it possible to have a research career while checking the proof of every theorem that you cite?
A colleague raised the above question with me; more precisely he said:
Suppose that a mathematician were resolved not to publish any theorems
unless they had checked the proof of every theorem ...
96
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7
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How Much Work Does it Take to be a Successful Mathematician? [closed]
Hi Everyone,
Famous anecdotes of G.H. Hardy relay that his work habits consisted of working no more than four hours a day in the morning and then reserving the rest of the day for cricket and tennis. ...
44
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3
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Publishing a Simple Paper as an Undergraduate
First off I apologize if this question does not belong here, I would be happy to hear about any better locations to post this on.
I am a (first year) undergraduate mathematics student, and I recently ...
31
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5
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Beginner's questions on the post-doc application
I am going on the (research oriented) post-doc job market (mainly in the US) this winter and would like to ask some questions. I am aware of the site http://academia.stackexchange.com, but I am ...
0
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1
answer
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Advice for PhD in Algebra [closed]
I hope that this question is okay to post here.
I'm in my final year of my master's degree in Sweden, and I'm starting to feel that some doors are closing in regards to applying for a postgraduate ...
80
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13
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12k
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How does an academic mathematician educate him/herself about job opportunities outside academia?
One of the contradictions of being a math professor is that a big part of your job is to train people to do things which are quite different from what you do yourself professionally; this is ...
34
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7
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Is it worthwhile to give off-topic talks?
I am a graduate student. Occasionally for some reason I am asked to give a talk on my research at a conference whose stated purpose is almost completely unrelated to my research. To preserve my ...
1
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1
answer
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I want to enter graduate school in pure math. Is doing REU in “mathematical modeling” a good idea? Is it an essential skill to learn?
(please let me know if this question is not suitable here)
Hello! I'm an undergraduate rising senior majoring in mathematics and it seems that I got rejected by an REU that is held in my university ...
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6
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"Industry"/Government jobs for mathematicians
Suppose that you graduate with a good PhD in mathematics, but don't necessarily want to go into academia, with the post-doc years that this entails. Are there any other options for continuing to do "...
53
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8
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Publishing a bad paper?
First, I apologize if mathoverflow is a bad fit for this question, but it is the only place where I can think to get advice from professionals given my circumstance. I'm also sorry about any vagueness ...
30
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7
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When your paper makes a borderline case for a top journal
Say you write a paper that you feel makes a borderline case for publication in a prestigious journal (Annals, Acta, Inventiones, JAMS, etc). What are the advantages and disadvantages of submitting ...
43
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8
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Should one attack hard problems? [closed]
When I applied for a PhD student position I had an interview with two professors. Somehow we touched the problem if $P$ is $NP$ and, once we got there, for some reason both professors made it clear ...
24
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1
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Is an interpretation mathematics (fit for publication)?
Background
I am a mathematician with two published papers. The first is based on my PhD thesis and generalised a tool to a more general setting. The thesis was cited a number of times by the time the ...
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What universities have laid off tenured math faculty for financial reasons?
When a math department lays off tenured staff, people cry out loud.
But, 10 years later, such memories are no longer popular discussion subjects, and so the information doesn't always spread.
Those ...
3
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1
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Math graduate school applications and personal hardships [closed]
This question is on mathematics, career, and personal life.
I.) Assumptions.
i.) Suppose that I am a Junior in college majoring in mathematics at a top research institution in the U.S. I have "...