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I'm an applied mathematician (PhD) working partially in software development, partially in research mathematics and statistics proper. A mathematician is someo
by thearn4 13y ago
I'm an applied mathematician (PhD) working partially in software development, partially in research mathematics and statistics proper.
A mathematician is someone who works on things that honestly very few folks can understand completely (not due to complexity per se, just depth and lack of general familiarity). Publication peer-review aside, it's also unlikely that the few folks who can judge your work are in any position to fire you. It's a rewarding and pretty secure gig.
But I still think that the most interesting work is very multidisciplinary in nature, so a CS, engineering or physical sciences background really does enhance the work you can do. Like in any other career, don't let yourself become a one-trick pony.
- ttflee 13y ago> it's also unlikely that the few folks who can judge your work are in any position to fire you But in the other hand, it means those who can judge your work are not in the same position to hire you, and it is not ruled out that people in position to fire you has to understand your work in order to do so.
- pmiller2 13y agoMy advisor in grad school put it this way: being a mathematician basically amounts to being the world's leading expert on something only about 5 people give a shit about.