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Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

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Re: Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

#31

Post by jboggan »

I will tell you that if you are looking to move into software and are currently "a couple of years" from finishing a math PhD you need to re-evaluate your chances of finishing your PhD. PhD's are difficult programs, especially in the final stages, and if you don't have a burning and overwhelming desire to do something that requires you to have that math PhD you are going to have a very difficult time finishing.

Go ahead and think right now how you can transition from grad school to being hired in software development 12 months from now. You're probably being paid to go to school right now so that makes it even easier. Start working on some open source projects, create a side project, get your GitHub account bouncing with meaningful commits.

PhD or no PhD you will need to demonstrate some finished projects to help you get hired at a good position.

Re: Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

#32

Post by nsomniact »

shou4577 wrote: post #20
geofft wrote: post #12

I figure a math Ph.D. who's poked at Haskell and Django will be smart enough to figure things out, and enough of (the right kind of) programming is more about figuring out new environments than knowing an existing environment very well. The one thing I don't see in your writeup is any concrete experience to look at. Do you have some awesome Django site that does something nifty, or a cleverly-designed Haskell applica…

Thanks, you don't see any concrete experience because there isn't anything worth showing. I'm working on some stuff right now to do just that. It's actually a webapp to allow teachers and students to communicate math effectively without having to know LaTeX and email pdfs. From what I've heard so far, it sounds like there is definitely opportunities for me, and that means that I can justify spending time working on t…

I'm a co-founder of Olympus Math, an adaptive platform that improves math proficiency for middle and high school students (currently deployed across 35 school districts nationwide)

Your above mentioned project is aligned to a new product we are gearing up to develop. I would love to chat with you further, you can email me at muj@olympusmath.com

Re: Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

#33

Post by Kishin »

A startup I have worked at had a programmer who had PhD in math. His prior experience was primarily shell scripting in addition to some other very minor experience. A PhD in math will tell a potential employer that you are smart. Very smart. A lot of computer science (CS not programming) is essentially math.

You definitely have an advantage in many of the more mathematical areas (machine learning, etc.) and your degree will show that you'll likely be able to learn quickly. Your PhD will only help, not hurt. Just do some side projects in a popular language like Ruby, Python, or something else that is relevant and you will be more than fine.

Re: Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

#34

Post by netghost »

A solid understanding of math or any technical field combined with practical experience in programming, and a willingness to learn will get you quite far. Also a multidisciplinary background can be quite a strength.

For instance we're hiring developers at LiquidPlanner. We are doing some cool stuff with probabilistic scheduling/planning, which would really benefit from some more folks with solid math/stats backgrounds:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/eng/3264718329.html

So yeah, I'd say finish up your PhD, enjoy academia, and don't worry, there will be jobs out there for you.

Re: Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

#35

Post by mrestko »

For what it's worth, I have a B.S. in biochemistry which I would expect indicates some level of intelligence to potential employers. However, I have had a lot of difficulty even getting to the interview stage when I apply for programming positions. I've spent a lot of time learning on my own and studying the CS side of programming (i.e. algorithms/data structures) which expect is neglected by many late converts and even when I say this in my cover letters I rarely more any further in the interviewing process.

A math PhD may have better luck but my experience has been negative so far.

Re: Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

#36

Post by taliesinb »

We (Wolfram|Alpha and Wolfram Research) hire a lot of math and physics PhDs -- although they need to have a pretty strong grasp of functional programming. Email me at taliesinb@wolfram.com if you're interested -- we work on a lot of fun and challenging problems.

As for myself, my degree is pure math, but I consider myself primarily a programmer. Funnily enough, reverse engineering a 3D graphics engine was how I first learned trigonometry and matrix math as a teen.

Re: Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

#37

Post by shou4577 »

mrestko wrote: post #35

For what it's worth, I have a B.S. in biochemistry which I would expect indicates some level of intelligence to potential employers. However, I have had a lot of difficulty even getting to the interview stage when I apply for programming positions. I've spent a lot of time learning on my own and studying the CS side of programming (i.e. algorithms/data structures) which expect is neglected by many late converts and e…

I'm very sorry to hear about your experience, thank you so much for sharing it.

Re: Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

#38

Post by charlieflowers »

From what I've seen (and I'm a 20 year programming veteran), the best jobs out there are in your wheelhouse.

Here's why: programming jobs top out at around $140k (higher or lower depending on your city). That is 99th percentile, I would speculate.

But there is a smaller niche of jobs that prefer or require advanced academic degrees that are math-heavy (such as Physics or Mathematics), that use cooler, more powerful, non-mainstream languages (such as Haskell, Lisp and a few others), and that can pay up to even $400k.

(Disclaimer: I don't have one of those jobs -- yet anyway :) And I don't directly know anyone who does. But I've seen indicators that they exist. Mostly it seems in the Financial sector. And I think $400k is way on the top end ... but that's a nicer top than $140k.)

EDIT - I saw lower down that the OP said he's not so much interested in a "Quant" job. Mostly, that's the kind of job I'm talking about. I understand why some consider it boring -- it doesn't involve creating anything life-changing -- but to me it is very interesting because it seems like you'd be working with some of the best functional programmers in the world on some hard problems. And, of course, the money is intriguing.

Re: Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

#39

Post by infinite8s »

mrestko wrote: post #35

For what it's worth, I have a B.S. in biochemistry which I would expect indicates some level of intelligence to potential employers. However, I have had a lot of difficulty even getting to the interview stage when I apply for programming positions. I've spent a lot of time learning on my own and studying the CS side of programming (i.e. algorithms/data structures) which expect is neglected by many late converts and e…

It's not so much a matter of intelligence (although that is important), but a matter of ability. Companies are much more interested in a demonstrated ability to program, and one of the easiest ways is to actually build something that you can show off. So if you really want to get yourself noticed you should put up some personal projects on something like github or contribute to open source projects. And considering you are a biochemist, there are lots of interesting open source projects in your language of choice that are being used for sequence analysis, phylogeny, cell simulation, etc. :)

Re: Ask HN: Are there programming jobs for Math PhDs?

#40

Post by bearmf »

hnwh wrote: post #28
bearmf wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are exaggerating, OP has almost no experience in software development. And it is never that easy to get a job even if you are good. Nowadays it is more like 2-3 phone interviews, then a whole day series of face-to-face interviews, then HR interview if you are lucky. All of this takes up LOTS of time.

He's not exaggerating ALL that much.. my recent job search in SF went that way ( PhD in Physics, web programmer).

If you know the right people it can be that easy, I agree. However for someone with no experience and no connections in the industry this would be hard.
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