REFLECTION
From understanding algebra in high school to understanding what a+bi means in college, my years of mathematics have been fun. Experiencing the challenges of math with other students who share a love of math, has given me the support I needed to never give up when the challenges got more difficult. Being an applied mathematics major has (and will always be) rewarding. The following is a paper I wrote regarding mathematics careers.
In choosing a career, one must decide what he/she likes doing and is good at doing. Few people seem to know the type of work mathematicians do in government and industry, and thus, mots people do not realize that mathematicians have wide employment opportunities beyond teaching. Many students whose true passion is mathematics turn to a different subject matter because they are not aware of the wonderful career opportunities available in applied mathematics. If made aware, these students could go into fields such as computer science, operations research, statistics, and actuarial science.
Almost every business in the world uses computers on a daily basis. Thus, there is a high demand for people who can use computers on several levels. One such level is computer programming. Computer programmers use math in the form of algebra, logic, number theory, and combinatorics. Hence, mathematics is valuable to those in computer science.
As a mathematician in the field of operations research, the use of mathematical knowledge improbes the efficiency of business operations. Models are used to represent problems which allows the researcher to figure out the best solutions to the problems. Understanding the problems and solutions requires a sufficient background in mathematics.
A statistician collects and studies data in order to analyze problems in the world. Ananlyzing requires knowledge of probability and, of course, statistics. Once this has been done, the final product may be used to gain understanding of other problems, and predict possible outcomes. Without mathematics, a statistician would not be able the complete a task.
Mathematics is very valuable to an actuary. An actuary creates statistics which help businesses predict their future. With keeping up on current trends and enjoying doing research, problem-solving accompanied by mathematics is encountered.
There are many other tpes of jobs out there for those with a love of mathematics. Employers of all sorts hire those with a mathematical background.
Some of these are Mitre Corporation, Xerox, Adobe, Microsoft, Lockheed-Martin, IBM, and Lucent Technologies. Others include Boeing, Citibank, Morgan Stanley, Prudential, AT&T, GTE, and Amoco.
As mathematicians, we are walking beside the footprints of Pythagoras. I leave you with a few questions solved by applied mathematicians:
An automobile production plant is falling far short of the capacity for which it was designed. Why?
How should an airline set ticket prices to ensure maximum revenue while allowing for no-shows and the aggravation and expense of overbooking?
Which credit card collection strategies produce the most revenue in the long term?
Computer chips are "printed" much like photographs from a negative. But manufacturing the "negative" is too expensive to permit cut-and-try testing of proposed layouts and the corresponding "print." Are there accurate mathematical models of the exposure process? Can they be coupled with efficient computational implementations to obtain practical, low-cost simulations to guide chip design and manufacture?
A chemical manufacturer must shift one of its product lines to a new family of compounds that will not harm the ozone layer. Since it cannot test possible new products by releasing them into the atmosphere, it must develop models of atmospheric chemistry that simulate the complex chemical reactions in the atmosphere, the action of the sun, etc. Can computational simulations show sufficient detail to capture the effects of the chemicals but still be fast enough to permit studies of many different chemicals?
Credits:
The Mathematical Association of America Online
American Mathematical Society
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics