Fun Things To Do With a Math Or Science Degree?

bxwatso writes "My niece just took the ACT and got a perfect score on the math section. 25 years ago, when I took the test, the kids who aced the math section were pretty special. Her score, combined with straight A's so far in high school, suggest to me that she might be able to go to a top university (MIT?) based on her math aptitude. The rub is that she doesn't like math or science, even though she finds them easy. She doesn't want to be an engineer or scientist. I thought the folks here would be a great group to ask: What are some creative, not too nerdy professions that nonetheless require a talent for math, engineering, or science?"

Comments

For starters...

[Travoltus]

You could calculate how much it costs to fly to China or India, which is where you'll be going if you want a job outside of teaching.

How about medicine?

[damn_registrars]

Most prerequisites for medicine (or dentistry, veterinary medicine, or chiropractic school) are science classes. If she does well as math and science, she may way to consider those paths.

Re:How about medicine?

[damn_registrars]

Medicine is great if you are prepared for the huge amount of student loan debt that comes with it.

There are a variety of ways to deal with that.

• There are several programs that will essentially relieve your debt if you do a few years rural practice
• Some schools have BS/MD programs for students who would otherwise be "traditional" pre-med in undergrad - finish the two degrees in less than the usual 8 years (and hence take in less debt)
• Research physician (MD/PhD) programs are usually paid in full by the school
• If you go into a high-paying specialty you will pull in enough money that your debt will be irrelevant

Re:Econ

[ub3r n3u7r4l1st]

Most economist get their money by teaching and writing books, or put up a lot of speaking engagements. In that case you will need to go all the way to a PhD in Economics. A master's degree is not enough.

Re:Don't get too excited.

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

Forgot to add the homework assignment. Do your freakin' research before your choose your goal. You'd think that would be obvious, but it apparently isn't.

Math required for Econ

[Anonymous Coward]

You took the wrong courses - plenty of undergraduate econ classes require fairly advanced Math - especially the ones that necessary for being able to succeed in grad school.

The econ classes divide into two different types - 1) the crap where you talk about lines on graphs where the most complicated math involved is y=mx+b. 2) The hard stuff that is required to prepare you for grad school. Most people self-select into the easy stuff.

Here's an example of an undergrad course that most every grad school econ student should have completed in their undergrad work - http://www.washington.edu/students/crscat/econ.html

ECON 481 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics (5) NW
Probability, generating functions; the d-method, Jacobians, Bayes theorem; maximum likelihoods, Neyman-Pearson, efficiency, decision theory, regression, correlation, bivariate normal. Prerequisite: STAT/ECON 311; either MATH 136 or MATH 126 with either MATH 308 or MATH 309. Recommended: MATH 324. Offered: jointly with CS&SS/STAT 481; A.

Look at those pre-reqs:

Math 126/136 - 3rd quarter of calculus or honors 3rd quarter of calculus - Introduction to Taylor polynomials and Taylor series, vector geometry in three dimensions,introduction to multivariable differential calculus, double integrals in Cartesian and polar coordinates.
Math 308 - MATH 308 Matrix Algebra with Applications (3) NW
Systems of linear equations, vector spaces, matrices, subspaces, orthogonality, least squares, eigenvalues, eigenvectors, applications. For students in engineering, mathematics, and the sciences.
MATH 309 Linear Analysis (3) NW
First order systems of linear differential equations, Fourier series and partial differential equations, and the phase plane.
MATH 324 Advanced Multivariable Calculus I (3) NW
Topics include double and triple integrals, the chain rule, vector fields, line and surface integrals. Culminates in the theorems of Green and Stokes, along with the Divergence Theorem.

They don't even bother to list differential equations as a pre-req as it is pre-req for other classes listed above.

Many years ago, I took the above mentioned ECON 481 when I was a senior in college (thinking I wanted to go on to grad school). I was very good at math and science I had tested out of freshman year calculus via AP exams (5 on the Calc BC), and physics (5 on the Physics C w/ Caculus and Physics E&M exam), and went on to take second year physics and second and third year of math and done very well in all of them.

Even with all of that preparation when it came time to take ECON 481, it was a struggle - probably the hardest class I ever took.

Re:Be a teacher

[foobsr]

Instead of asking what you have here, I suggest you ask your daughter what she'd /like/ to do

Excellent point — I myself was pressed into (natural) 'science' because math was easy to me, which in the long run (decades) turned out to be a major desaster that I am still trying to recover from.

CC.

stewarts "letters to a mathematician"

[e**(i pi)-1]

A degree in math opens the door to many other areas: computer science, any other science, teaching or management. It essentially provides the flexibility and ability to think abstractly. Doing mathematical research is only one option, the actual work can be very applied. A good math education teaches naturally how to understand a complex issue, reduce it to a model which can be solved. Starting with "hard science" makes other areas easier to understand. A good reading for a student pondering the question whether math is an option is Ian Stewart's book "Letters to a young Mathematician".