4 ms·

> "If you major in mathematics, you can switch to X anytime you want to, but not the other way around." I hear people say that about mathematicians, physicists

> "If you major in mathematics, you can switch to X anytime you want to, but not the other way around." I hear people say that about mathematicians, physicists and even philosophers, yet I've never come across any of them in my career. I suspect it's wishful thinking.

foldr 9y ago
Indeed, what is it even supposed to mean? You can become a doctor or a lawyer or whatever just like that because you have a degree in math?
- sdenton4 9y ago
  It's pretty common for math majors to go kick ass in the LSAT and become lawyers. Switching to medicine is a bit less common, I think.
  - foldr 9y ago
    It's common for people from lots of fields to go to law school, AFAIK. I don't see why a math degree specifically would be helpful in making that switch.
    - sn9 9y ago
      The claim was that a math degree is easier for making the switch than the opposite switch: e.g., an English major would likely do as well as a math major in getting a law degree, but would find it nearly impossible transitioning into mathematics without the equivalent of a second BS. I don't think this is particularly controvertial.
      - foldr 9y ago
        Is it not? Where are the examples of mathematicians successfully switching to writing literary criticism?
throwanem 9y ago
I disagree. I've worked with a sizable number of people whose training was in mathematics or physics. I've never worked in an organization dedicated to either field; my surmise is that a high level of facility in those subjects demands an activity and agility of intellect which lends itself well to almost any complex and primarily mental pursuit.
- foldr 9y ago
  Most people in most jobs are doing work that's not directly related to their degree.
  - throwanem 9y ago
    I've worked with a lot more math and physics grads than, say, poli sci or sports medicine grads. Not to disparage fields that aren't math or physics, and I don't have a degree in the fight in any case; just that I have noticed something of a preponderance over the years among those who do have degrees not actually in the field.
    - foldr 9y ago
      Right, but there are other fields of work where poli sci grads would be more common than math and physics grads.
      - throwanem 9y ago
        Government, I suppose, but then that's basically what they're trained for, so...
        foldr 9y ago
        Do you have actual stats on where poli sci graduates work? Take English majors as a more straightforward example. Virtually no English majors are employed doing anything directly related to their studies.
sdenton4 9y ago
I think there's a bit of perception bias here based on when people 'convert out' of mathematics. People leaving after undergrad are both the most common, and pretty unlikely to be described as 'mathematicians' outright. There's also a relatively small number of people majoring in math compared to many of the fields the math majors switch into. My current team of SWE's at BigCorp for a while was >50% phds; I did a math postdoc, we had another MIT math phd, and a physics, bio and EE phd off the top of my head. So I guess it depends what you're working on?
phaus 9y ago
Are you a developer? I've run into at least a few math majors working in software dev/netsec.
analog31 9y ago
I majored in math, and then did a PhD in physics. My first job out of grad school involved programming the controls for factory machines. These machines involved a technology that couldn't be bought off-the-shelf, and thus required custom controls. Today, I'm an "architect" at a business that makes measurement equipment. My perception is that it was easier to cross disciplines when I got out of school, more than a couple decades ago. Things like "embedded systems" weren't well enough defined to have an established training-to-job career path, so it was easier to break into those fields. Rejecting candidates who didn't match a template was only beginning to be automated. Today, bigger employers are looking for training that is more specific to the task at hand. So if you're in a rapidly emerging area where workers tend to be younger, you might see fewer cross-disciplinary people. At my workplace, the people with "generalist" background who are now working in specialized areas of engineering, tend to be over 50, myself included.
BeetleB 9y ago
>I hear people say that about mathematicians, physicists and even philosophers, yet I've never come across any of them in my career. I suspect it's wishful thinking. I think it's more common among physicists. Branching over into computer science is common. As is economics and engineering. I rarely see a non-math PhD as a faculty in the math department. Same with physics. However, it is not at all unusual to see a math/physics PhD as a faculty member in another department.

foldr 9y ago

Indeed, what is it even supposed to mean? You can become a doctor or a lawyer or whatever just like that because you have a degree in math?

sdenton4 9y ago
It's pretty common for math majors to go kick ass in the LSAT and become lawyers. Switching to medicine is a bit less common, I think.
- foldr 9y ago
  It's common for people from lots of fields to go to law school, AFAIK. I don't see why a math degree specifically would be helpful in making that switch.
  - sn9 9y ago
    The claim was that a math degree is easier for making the switch than the opposite switch: e.g., an English major would likely do as well as a math major in getting a law degree, but would find it nearly impossible transitioning into mathematics without the equivalent of a second BS. I don't think this is particularly controvertial.
    - foldr 9y ago
      Is it not? Where are the examples of mathematicians successfully switching to writing literary criticism?

throwanem 9y ago

I disagree. I've worked with a sizable number of people whose training was in mathematics or physics. I've never worked in an organization dedicated to either field; my surmise is that a high level of facility in those subjects demands an activity and agility of intellect which lends itself well to almost any complex and primarily mental pursuit.

foldr 9y ago
Most people in most jobs are doing work that's not directly related to their degree.
- throwanem 9y ago
  I've worked with a lot more math and physics grads than, say, poli sci or sports medicine grads. Not to disparage fields that aren't math or physics, and I don't have a degree in the fight in any case; just that I have noticed something of a preponderance over the years among those who do have degrees not actually in the field.
  - foldr 9y ago
    Right, but there are other fields of work where poli sci grads would be more common than math and physics grads.
    - throwanem 9y ago
      Government, I suppose, but then that's basically what they're trained for, so...
      - foldr 9y ago
        Do you have actual stats on where poli sci graduates work? Take English majors as a more straightforward example. Virtually no English majors are employed doing anything directly related to their studies.

sdenton4 9y ago

I think there's a bit of perception bias here based on when people 'convert out' of mathematics. People leaving after undergrad are both the most common, and pretty unlikely to be described as 'mathematicians' outright. There's also a relatively small number of people majoring in math compared to many of the fields the math majors switch into. My current team of SWE's at BigCorp for a while was >50% phds; I did a math postdoc, we had another MIT math phd, and a physics, bio and EE phd off the top of my head. So I guess it depends what you're working on?

phaus 9y ago

Are you a developer? I've run into at least a few math majors working in software dev/netsec.

analog31 9y ago

I majored in math, and then did a PhD in physics. My first job out of grad school involved programming the controls for factory machines. These machines involved a technology that couldn't be bought off-the-shelf, and thus required custom controls. Today, I'm an "architect" at a business that makes measurement equipment. My perception is that it was easier to cross disciplines when I got out of school, more than a couple decades ago. Things like "embedded systems" weren't well enough defined to have an established training-to-job career path, so it was easier to break into those fields. Rejecting candidates who didn't match a template was only beginning to be automated. Today, bigger employers are looking for training that is more specific to the task at hand. So if you're in a rapidly emerging area where workers tend to be younger, you might see fewer cross-disciplinary people. At my workplace, the people with "generalist" background who are now working in specialized areas of engineering, tend to be over 50, myself included.

BeetleB 9y ago

>I hear people say that about mathematicians, physicists and even philosophers, yet I've never come across any of them in my career. I suspect it's wishful thinking. I think it's more common among physicists. Branching over into computer science is common. As is economics and engineering. I rarely see a non-math PhD as a faculty in the math department. Same with physics. However, it is not at all unusual to see a math/physics PhD as a faculty member in another department.