Pursing a Career in Mathematics

Pursuing a Career in Mathematics

Anytime the subject: Mathematics is mentioned, there is this tension you can visibly find around students. Many feel like; ‘It’s a hard nut to crack’. Let me bring to your notice that mathematics is one of the simplest subject to understand. Never approach it with a pessimist mind. It’s a subject you can understand and build a career with a guarantee of high income. In this article, you will gain insight into subject of mathematics, the various branches and how you can make a career in Mathematics

Before I define the subject matter, let me inform you that a professional of mathematics is likely to get a job faster than a Lawyer, Medical practitioner and many other applied course you may even think about.

What is Mathematics?

Mathematics is the science that studies quality, space, change and structure. Mathematicians apply the approach of rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions to seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth.

Although there appears to be a debate over the natural existence of mathematical objects such as numbers and points, or whether they are human creations, many researchers have proffered insight into this and more. The mathematician Benjamin Peirce called mathematics “the science that draws necessary conclusions”. Albert Einstein, on the other hand, stated that “as far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.”

The abstraction and logical reasoning mathematics has made its evolution from counting, measurement, calculation, and the motions of physical objects and the systematic study of the shapes. The practice of mathematics has been in existence as old as human existence. It became a subject of official argument in Greek mathematics, notably evidenced in Euclid’s Elements, and advanced in fitful bursts, until the Renaissance, when mathematical innovations interacted with new scientific discoveries, leading to an acceleration in research that continues to the present day. In our contemporary society, the application of mathematics has found global relevance in many in many fields, such as: Natural science, engineering, medicine, and the social sciences.

Discrete Mathematics

This is a branch of mathematics that is concerned with algorithmic thinking, reasoning, discrete structures, combinatorial analysis, and enhanced problem-solving skills through the modeling approach. It is concerned with distinct aand/or unconnected elements such as studying the relationship between finite sets, counting the number of ways to arrange objects in a particular pattern, analyzing processes that involve a finite number of steps and determining whether a mathematical argument is logically correct. The subject of discrete mathematics provides us in-depth understanding into mathematical arguments and lays the foundation for advanced mathematics and computer science courses. If you desire to understand programming, you must give attention to this subject. The following topics are considered in discrete mathematics: Basic Number Theory, Sets, Logical and Proof Techniques, Relations and Functions, Big O and Combinatorics.

Engineering Mathematics

This a branch of mathematics that is concerned with applied analysis, model creation, differential equations, and approximation theories with the aim of representing real life complex problems in a form that aids understanding and simulation. It is an interdisciplinary subject that connects physics, chemistry, and other forms of science. Students well tutored in this area are creative and possess expanding minds to designs next generation cars, cutting edge robotics, running technology business, autonomous vehicles, and computing.

In this field, you will see how theory is put into practice and how it is extended and adapted to meet real life demands.

Business Mathematics

This is a branch of mathematics concerned with commerce and financial management. It applies in the areas of accounting, inventory management, marketing, financial analysis, and sales forecasting. This knowledge helps one understand financial formulas, fractions, measurement in interest calculation, hire rates, tax and salary calculation. Business mathematics also include statistics and provides solution to business problems.

Making a career in business mathematics is an interesting area to trade as this provide one with the responsibility of taking financial decision for the company. A business mathematician must have the knowledge of economics, finance, and business management with a good communication skill to succeed in this profession.

Companies hire mathematician to work as Financial Analysts, Insurance Underwriters, Budget Analysts, and Security Analysts.

Career Outlook for Mathematicians

According to US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the growth trend for mathematicians has increased by 23% in the last ten years, with several sectors actively absorbing them into the mainstream of production and management activities. Salaries of professionals in this field earn from $79,000 to $108,000 annually, depending on the sectors of expertise.

Skills necessary to succeed in this field include active learning skills, communication skills, decision making skills, system analysis skills, teamwork skills.

Mathematicians need certification to get certain jobs, while in others these certifications are additional credentials to advance in the career ladder.

Actuaries begin with an associate status job, and must proceed to complete a graduate certificate program to get a professional status position in a reputable company. The can as well advance their career into fellowship status at managerial level. These credentials are issued Society of Actuaries, while Casualty Actuarial Society certify those in the property and casualty field. Those in the insurance sectors are certified by Society of Actuaries.

Mathematicians who fill in the role of Financial Analyst are certified by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to receive advance in their career. This certification in most cases is sponsored by the employer.

Financial analysts can also receive the voluntary Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification that is offered from the CFA Institute.

The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence offers a mathematics certification for teachers who want to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.

Mathematicians can as well fill the role of teachers and lecturer. The later must have a Master degree in Mathematics while in the later, it is not compulsory.