I'd recommend writing some parsers (in python, ruby, perl, whatever) for large data sets ( http://www.quora.com/Data/Where-can-I-get-large-datasets-open-to-the-

I'd recommend writing some parsers (in python, ruby, perl, whatever) for large data sets ( http://www.quora.com/Data/Where-can-I-get-large-datasets-open-to-the-public http://www.quora.com/Data/Where-can-I-get-large-datasets-ope... ) It will probably speak to your analytical side and teach you stuff like string manipulation, loops, file i/o, etc. Plus you could use your math background to do some cool data analysis for the public good.