Everybody. I've worked in financial services and med devices - everywhere I have been, my sharpest coworkers have either been math majors or have a great math skillset. Math is best focused on a single vertical: find an industry you are passionate about and be a specialist in it.
Ask HN: Who hires mathematicians?
121–130 of 152 posts
Re: Ask HN: Who hires mathematicians?
#122You're doing it the wrong way round. Who needs mathematicians? What can it be used for? Find the appropriate people on forums, github or whatever and talk to them about it. Not HR, people who are involved in whatever you want to be involved in.
Maybe get to know this too: https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm/features/scientific_tools....
Re: Ask HN: Who hires mathematicians?
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’d tell them to begin work in a portfolio of whatever they’re interested in doing. If they want to work in IT then take the time to learn some cloud platform and Linux sys administration. Try to obtain the A+ asap. If they want to be in data analytics then learn python, excel (for the HR departments of the world), and statistics. Then make a code example repo and/or blog with some analytics. Be prepared to start at…
"I’ve also always wondered to what extent math would be useful in law school." I have a software engineering degree (not CS) first, and then put myself through law school part time while working as a programmer, so I have some insight in this. In short, it's completely useless; even programming skills are useless. There are some highly specific (patent) positions where having a technical background combined with law…
I wouldn't think a math background would directly apply to law. I'm thinking it might translate to someone who can build a solid argument. I'm aware that logic in the manner familiar to a mathematician would not apply. It's all about rhetoric and knowledge of the law. That's been my take away from conversations with legal professors/students.
I appreciated your insight. My thoughts were formed with much less knowledge.
Re: Ask HN: Who hires mathematicians?
#124Insurance companies. Look into the actuarial profession.
I came here to say this. From what I gather, actuaries make big money and have significant power at insurance companies. (I was merely a gumby processing claims and needed special training to do my entry level job.)
Re: Ask HN: Who hires mathematicians?
#125I did the same thing, and ended up working for an early-stage biotech company doing some combination of hardware design, signal processing, machine learning, and experiment design. For better or worse, people generally seem to think a math degree implies "smart" and tend to be willing to overlook a lack of any specific skills...
Which company is that if I may ask?
I'd rather not, sorry!
Re: Ask HN: Who hires mathematicians?
#126I'm a mechanical engineer with strong minors in applied computational mathematics and scientific computing, and math has been, for me, a super-power. It opens all kinds of thermal, structural analyst jobs. I can optimize all kinds of stuff. I can automate simulations and plot the results in ways that the non-technical can get a good idea of the right direction to go. That all comes from math. Can you hand-code a solv…
> Your earnings at age 25 determine your total lifetime earnings
Do you have more info on this?
Re: Ask HN: Who hires mathematicians?
#127I'm a mechanical engineer with strong minors in applied computational mathematics and scientific computing, and math has been, for me, a super-power. It opens all kinds of thermal, structural analyst jobs. I can optimize all kinds of stuff. I can automate simulations and plot the results in ways that the non-technical can get a good idea of the right direction to go. That all comes from math. Can you hand-code a solv…
> Can you hand-code a solver for Maxwells equations or Navier-Stokes (lid-driven cavity flow)? For my undergrad, I mostly focussed on number theory and differential geometry. These topics are mostly useless unless you want to work at the NSA, which only works for the US. Most of my undergraduate curriculum is absolutely useless except for the art of mathematics itself. For my Masters I wanted to learn more about nume…
I think the comments here could do with being put in a little perspective. There are programmers reading HN (well, all programmers) for whom one important way they can improve as a software engineer is to improve their powers of abstract thinking. You people who have studied advanced mathematics, any of it, are exceptionally skilled at thinking abstractly. I think there’s a risk of underestimating how useful that is in software engineering.
Re: Ask HN: Who hires mathematicians?
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd actually be interested in your experience. Personally I have a degree in Physics. Only two classes in programming (majorly self taught) and work in simulations. How does the software engineering field see people like me? I've applied to programming jobs in the past and just never knew if I was under qualified, didn't stand out, or just slipped through the cracks in the large amounts of applications places get. An…
I'm not sure what exactly simulations means? lots of Matlab/R/some specific DSL? So when I applied to jobs with my applied math degree and 2 years of grad computing experience - but no industry experience - as a software engineer - I got lots of sorry no experience, we can't train you, etc... etc... I eventually got a job as a support engineer and have kicked around a lot of roles including data scientist and softwar…
> I'm not sure what exactly simulations means? lots of Matlab/R/some specific DSL?
Mostly C++ and python. Though I know Matlab too.
I'm not looking for a job, per say, but it is always good to know what I can get. But you would suggest a head hunter? I do have experience now.
Re: Ask HN: Who hires mathematicians?
#129I graduated with a BSc in Mathematics in 2008, and didn't exactly know what I wanted to do. I just typed the keyword "analyst" into job search engines. It worked pretty well! I ended up getting a job in a field that I didn't even know existed when I started (web analytics). It turns out that almost every industry has some sort of data that they can benefit from having someone analyze it, and a Math degree is a pretty…
I like that idea. Trying a slightly different approach, and searched on indeed.com for "mathematics" and "$50,000" (filters for jobs that are supposedly 50K USD and up per year).
Jobs on the first page:
- Mathematician @ Reflexion Investments
- Entry Level Systems Engineer @ Boeing
- Special Agent @ FBI
- Quality Engineer 1 @ Northrop Grumman
- Software Quality Engineer 1 @ Northrop Grumman
- Junior Independent Credit Review Officer @ Bofi Federal Bank
- Mathematics & Statistics Student Trainee @ US Air Force
- Academic Tutor @ MathWizJohn Tutoring
- Cost Analyst, Junior @ Booz Allen Hamilton
- Police Recruit (Entry Level) @ City of Chula Vista, CA
...the list goes on.
Re: Ask HN: Who hires mathematicians?
#130We just made a maths-heavy hire where a majority of work is expected to be machine learning, linear algebra, forecasting, data analysis, etc. We design food preparation and retail robots and supporting logistics and automation systems.
Previously I tried to hire a maths PhD out of academia but the guy was all talk and no action. He's now working for a hedge fund.