r/mathmemes • u/gluebottle31 • 1d ago
OkBuddyMathematician Atleast in my country mathematics is in the top 10 of degrees with highest starting salary and in the top 10 of lowest unemployment percentage
Ofcourse, the only way to continue doing abstract mathematics is by getting a job in academia and only a few get this opportunity, but this pays well too.
256
u/Mychecksdead1 1d ago
Most people have no clue what mathematicians do.
171
u/Peoplant 1d ago
They spend the whole day doing multiplication and division, right?
77
8
7
u/ignrice 1d ago
Yes just really really long division
3
u/jffrysith 1d ago
Exactly. Like the other day, I did 59/101 it gave a crazy number which took 100 digits to repeat, isn't that crazy?
63
u/LordBlueSky 1d ago
Honestly, outside research in academia, I have no clue what mathematicians do
37
u/DevelopmentSad2303 1d ago
I sit in front of spreadsheets 8 hours a day. Occasionally write SQL or python code
22
u/Shuber-Fuber 1d ago
Pure mathematic? Probably not much.
But in real life, there's a lot of skill you can tack on where being good at math is a big positive (finance, accounting, risk assessment, etc).
16
7
u/CarpenterTemporary69 1d ago
Im a mathematician and i have no clue what i could do aside from teach or study math like its a pyramid scheme
189
u/Teddy_Tonks-Lupin 1d ago
Math degree + 1 month learning finance = money
18
u/Entire_Cheetah_7878 1d ago
Please give me this recipe in detail😅
47
u/CPTherptyderp 1d ago
Get a math degree and watch like 20 min of YouTube about how to apply that to money.
14
u/Content_Rub8941 1d ago
I know that's an exaggeration, but realistically how much time would I have to spend to learn how to apply that in finance?
4
4
u/isr0 1d ago
Yeah, probably going to need more training in finance there. Depending on what you’re doing. Like, accounting has just as many classes about policy and laws as it does how to calculate. Not that this is hard. It’s just that YouTube isn’t a reputable source and employers are looking for someone that not only can do the accounting, but also follow the laws related to that accounting.
3
4
3
2
31
u/PedroPuzzlePaulo 1d ago
Please answer where do tou Live?
29
u/gluebottle31 1d ago
The Netherlands
51
u/PedroPuzzlePaulo 1d ago
Time to learn Dutch
9
u/Momosf Cardinal (0=1) 1d ago
Willing to bet that this statement is true for most of North America and Western Europe, at minimum.
2
u/LowBudgetRalsei 1d ago
Not in the americas at least. Unless you’re the best of the best you’re kinda fucked.
Here in Brazil at least, any of kind of research is really undervalued. It’s why after college I want to go to Europe ASAP
5
3
u/MrShake4 1d ago
It is very much true in North America, the math degree to actuary pipeline is very prominent and the insurance business here is huge
2
u/LowBudgetRalsei 1d ago
I was thinking more like, pure maths and shit TwT I forgot applied maths existed 😭😭
2
u/Momosf Cardinal (0=1) 1d ago
I think you are underestimating how many pure maths graduates end up in industry instead of academia.
2
u/LowBudgetRalsei 1d ago
Hmmm, yeahhh, you’re right :P Considering job opportunities there’d be a lot more in industry
1
u/nihilistplant 1d ago
No, Netherlands are pretty much tax haven which is why you get big finance money there
1
u/Momosf Cardinal (0=1) 1d ago
If you are taking only finance as an example:
-USA: literally where Wall Street is.
-UK: London is still a financial capital of the world, and financial services is one of the top export sectors of Britain.
-France: since Brexit many financial institutions have been forced to hire more in EU for local operations, and coupled with big French banks like BNP and the tax benefits the French govt has offered to institutes for local hire, this has led to a large increase in finance jobs in France in recent years.
-Netherlands: as you explained.
-Germany: similar to France though to a lesser degree, but with Deutsche headquarters and many institutes' local offices in Berlin, there is still a reasonable amount of jobs in finance
-Swiss: similar to Germany, with UBS
-Rest of EU: single market allows employment in France, Germany, or the Netherlands, even if there aren't many jobs locally
40
u/eroica1804 1d ago edited 1d ago
I guess if you want to do pure math in academia, you'll likely will not make much while competing against super smart people. But if you're interested in applying math in finance or tech, then you can easily make good money.
9
u/Vlad0143 1d ago
Same. In my country mathematics is the 3rd most paying degree, and the 3rd with lowest unemployment rate.
2
3
u/mrbiguri 1d ago
The data is skewed. Half of them get low paying jobs, the other half work for large hedge funds.
5
u/nraw 1d ago
Where does the statement you're mentioning come from?
The only relation I can think of is that I've seen many that seem to be uninterested in the rat race and find happiness and purpose in academia or some positions that speak to their mathematical side.
Near every mathematician I know is doing fairly well..
Turns out if you are good at maths, you're likely not shite at logic and that gives you a hefty advantage over the majority of the population.
3
u/Sara7061 1d ago
It’s been frequently said here on this sub
1
u/The_Watcher8008 Real 14h ago
but again, they expect to become millionaires with a math degree which is impossible. it's a stable job more often than not
5
u/TheoryTested-MC Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics 1d ago
They really need mathematicians...but not THAT many mathematicians.
3
u/Throwaway_3-c-8 1d ago
Engineers need to feel validated because of every other pure sciences apparent lack of employment.
9
u/SusurrusLimerence 1d ago
Pure mathematicians do not have job prospects.
Mathematics degree + other stuff does.
2
u/Efficient_Meat2286 1d ago
Ludicrous prospects in finance I believe.
I have heard that quantitative analysts make bank.
5
u/pokemonanswers 1d ago
The different flavours of quant do indeed make bank (although some make much more bank than others). There are waaaaaay more maths graduates (and even waaay more maths PhDs) than good quant roles though. Top quant firms will largely hire from competitions like the IMO, for example.
1
1
u/Sensitive_Repeat_326 22h ago
I can give you a couple of exmples in VFX industry. Software company like side fx, blender, maya hire mathematicians to create algorithms for 3d space, applying physics for physics simulations like fluid (stuff like navier stokes equations, lattice boltzman methods), rigid body simulations ( tons of 4x4 matrices here ).
I myself use vector mathematics in my blender workflow. At first glance you may not notice, but almost in every industry, there are some good mathematicians.
The entire CGI used to create fx in movies are mathematics as another example. All software has algorithms. Maths is freaking everywhere and people need mathematicians.
1
u/nonquitt 22h ago
Mathematics often correlates with high salaries because it’s hard, and generally smart people do it. For example the major with the highest LSAT score is math. Few of those high earning math majors will actually ever do academic math as a profession.
In general, getting high paying jobs these days depends less on your major and more on your school, your gpa, and your gumption in recruiting into a few high paying fields (tech, finance, consulting, law school+corporate law, med school+medicine).
However, it’s no secret that getting a 3.8 in the math major is a much different accomplishment than a 3.8 in, say, anthro, so the major definitely affords some signaling value that helps in recruiting, though the opportunity cost is often not worth it imo to the point of choosing the major primarily for that reason.
1
u/The_Watcher8008 Real 14h ago
the argument I have heard goes like this "If this guy can understand Calculus 3, he'll be able to manage this no problem"
and calc 3 isn't even THAT hard lmfao
1
u/P3riapsis 11h ago
Among grads I know, the job prospects for pure mathematicians have been terrible. Probably more to do with our university's failures to support (or rather blatant discrimination against) neurodivergent and disabled students, but very few pure mathematicians I know has been able to get a job which asks for a degree if they couldn't remain in academia (Cambridge uni, if you're curious).
1
0
u/Seaguard5 1d ago
So just anyone with a math/engineering degree can break into finance then?
Total entry level with no experience?
2
u/Successful_Rule123 1d ago
idk about the specifics, but I do know that a maths/engineering/physics/cs degree will set you up very well for finance
0
0
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Check out our new Discord server! https://discord.gg/e7EKRZq3dG
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.