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I've seen math / physics majors make an easy transition into software development. I bet that is much easier to pull off than switching to programming from say,

I've seen math / physics majors make an easy transition into software development. I bet that is much easier to pull off than switching to programming from say, sociology.

closeparen 8y ago
Okay, but the employable activity there is still software development and not science or mathematics.
- BadassFractal 8y ago
  That is true.
- dddddaviddddd 8y ago
  Software is often a tool to perform science.
- analog31 8y ago
  Most math and science students are aware that we aren't headed for academic research careers in those fields. But that's true for computer science students as well. I have a physics degree, and while I'm not employed as a programmer per se, programming is my main problem solving tool. It wouldn't be a quantum leap for me to move into a programming job if I wanted to do it. On the other hand, I also have two friends whose college degrees were in philosophy and music performance, and both became programmers.
electricslpnsld 8y ago
> I bet that is much easier to pull off than switching to programming from say, sociology. Sociology curricula are getting quite quantitative these days — the jump from sociology student to data scientist isn’t that far. I used to live with a bunch of sociologists back in grad school, and they lived and breathed R, Python, and SAS.
fnrslvr 8y ago
Is this a regional thing? I've had interviewers inquire perplexedly from across the table as to why in the world someone with a mathematics degree was seeking a software development job. Do employers in some parts really salivate over green math/phys grads with not so much as a github profile? Or do these anecdata leave off some key arc to the story where the grad does something substantial to bridge the gap between said major and software dev?
- BadassFractal 8y ago
  Many employers don't care what your degree is as long as you can prove you can code what they need you to code.

I've seen math / physics majors make an easy transition into software development. I bet that is much easier to pull off than switching to programming from say, sociology.

closeparen 8y ago

Okay, but the employable activity there is still software development and not science or mathematics.

BadassFractal 8y ago
That is true.
dddddaviddddd 8y ago
Software is often a tool to perform science.
analog31 8y ago
Most math and science students are aware that we aren't headed for academic research careers in those fields. But that's true for computer science students as well. I have a physics degree, and while I'm not employed as a programmer per se, programming is my main problem solving tool. It wouldn't be a quantum leap for me to move into a programming job if I wanted to do it. On the other hand, I also have two friends whose college degrees were in philosophy and music performance, and both became programmers.

electricslpnsld 8y ago

> I bet that is much easier to pull off than switching to programming from say, sociology. Sociology curricula are getting quite quantitative these days — the jump from sociology student to data scientist isn’t that far. I used to live with a bunch of sociologists back in grad school, and they lived and breathed R, Python, and SAS.

fnrslvr 8y ago

Is this a regional thing? I've had interviewers inquire perplexedly from across the table as to why in the world someone with a mathematics degree was seeking a software development job. Do employers in some parts really salivate over green math/phys grads with not so much as a github profile? Or do these anecdata leave off some key arc to the story where the grad does something substantial to bridge the gap between said major and software dev?

BadassFractal 8y ago
Many employers don't care what your degree is as long as you can prove you can code what they need you to code.