Applied Math? vs. Statistics? vs. Computer Science?

<p>First of all, I enjoy all of these, and was wondering which you would pick based on other factors...</p>

<p>Which one will have the most job opportunities in the near future (10 years approx)?</p>

<p>Which one will have the most chances for lucrative careers?</p>

<p>Which is the more useful degree (meaning, which one pretty much encompasses the skills of the other in an employer's eyes)?</p>

<p>Which is the most stressful? least?</p>

<p>Which is the hardest/most time consuming/GPA killer in college?</p>

<p>Anything else is appreciated :)</p>

<p>You could probably pick two since there would be a lot of overlap. You could definitely minor in one of them. I’m a math major. The most marketable of them would be statistics and computer science. Those classes tend to focus on things that are more directly applicable. No matter what you do, though, you should definitely learn at least a little bit of computer science since everything is done with computers these days.</p>

<p>As for the hardest, it depends a lot on the school and the person.</p>

<p>A double major of computer science and math is not unusual. It is a lot of work, and it can be a gpa killer, though.</p>

<p>Where are you going to school?</p>

<p>idk… does it really depend significantly across schools? i’m guessing that could mean that applied math, stats, and CS are almost all comparable when it comes to getting employed? after all, it’s just a bachelors…</p>

<p>bump bump bump</p>

<p>I think the two math programs are a little more flexible when it comes to getting jobs. There have been other threads on what you can do with those two majors.</p>

<p>student 01, </p>

<p>FWIW, I recently saw a listing of top starting salaries for last year’s undergraduates, by field. First was chemical engineering, but close behind was computer science. That doesn’t necessarily mean a lot, because math and stat prepare you for work in a lot of different fields, so it is hard to say what it means in term of starting salary.</p>

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<p>Yeah, that’s what I thought. I mean, why would someone want to take all the extra courses required for something like NeuroBio when he/she can just take Stat to contribute to Neuro research/development?</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, but the Stat major will have to study a LOT of NeuroSci in order to provide any useful research, but the thing is I highly doubt he will have to sit through 4 years of schooling and classes to understand the very specific (or even a slightly broader scope) topic he is working on. I’m sure not even NeuroBio majors have memorize or remember every aspect of the brain, and highly doubt they need to know everything in order to provide useful work. So why not have a solid background in Stat if you’re not sure whether you want to do NeuroBio, Electrical Engineering, Social Science, etc, and when you can always study aspects of that specific topic later in your career?</p>

<p>You should do what you like best. You will excel in the area which you love and which you are best in. That is the way to go. Follow your talents and interests.</p>

<p>I like quantitative stuff.</p>

<p>^^You should take courses in all those areas and it will be obvious to you where you really can shine. Do that. You could also double major without too much difficulty, if two areas excite you. They all overlap, of course. This is not a dilemma (or trilemma).</p>

<p>Math, definitely.</p>

<p>I know many Silicon Valley engineers who would rather hire a math major than a computer science major. Mathematics gives you the general foundational knowledge that allows you to really build systems from a higher-order perspective.</p>

<p>Statistics is okay, but it doesn’t have the same flexibility. Mathematics allows you to go into anything from CS to engineering.</p>

<p>Computer science is okay, but the technology changes; a solid grounding in mathematics (algorithms, etc.) gives you the ability to be flexible.</p>

<p>I personally think the best double majors (if you want to go that way) are between a humanity and a science: computer science + political science, statistics + economics, etc.</p>