<p>Is a pure math major a waste of time? Will it leave me unable to find a job that pays well?
I really enjoy working on pure math problems but I'm not sure if majoring in it will pay off.</p>
<p>Should I just double major in pure/applied?</p>
<p>Pure is for grad school (lots of proofs) and Applied math is designed for getting a job straight out of college. But then a friend of mine is a math major and he got a Sales & Trading job in NY. At my school there’s no distinction between applied math and pure math so his major was basically pure math. You just need to know what you want to do. If you’re going pure route you can make yourself more marketable by taking courses in computer, economics, business, etc. Double majoring pure and applied math doesn’t really make sense since they overlap a lot.</p>
<p>I would recommend applied math for the job opportunities. Trust me, you will pretty much get the same knowledge of topics out of either pure or applied math. In applied math, you will still get exposure to Analysis, it’s just the pure math major will take Real Analysis (with the Rudin book) and the applied math major will take Advanced Calculus or “Real Analysis Lite” (as I call it). Take a dual-major (not double-major) with computer science as a fall-back plan.</p>
<p>In some schools, both pure and applied math majors will take Real Analysis with the Rudin book, along with a few other of the same courses. For example, [UC</a> Berkeley](<a href=“http://math.berkeley.edu/undergraduate_major_requirements.html]UC”>http://math.berkeley.edu/undergraduate_major_requirements.html).</p>
<p>A math major program of study typically does not have a huge number of courses, and the absence of lab courses means that math courses tend not to be as time consuming as in some other majors. So it should not be difficult to take the pure math courses and some applied courses in computer science, economics, and/or statistics to prepare for various types of jobs and careers.</p>
<p>I even have a question about this topic…</p>
<p>I think we established in the engineering forum that is would not matter if someone completed a B.A. in Computer Science as opposed to the B.S. (as long as they take certain courses). Can the same be said for the B.A. in Math?</p>
<p>The reason I ask is that, in surveying quite a few of the B.A. in Math programs, I noticed that the B.A. will either require about 2 less math courses OR require the same amount of math courses but allow more math or CS electives. I have looked at some B.A. Math programs and said “Wow…you really can dual-major easy with another discipline”.</p>
<p>All bachelor’s degrees in Math from UC Berkeley are Bachelor of Arts degrees. All master’s degrees in Math from UC Berkeley are Master of Arts degrees. Meanwhile, students who major in History at MIT graduate with Bachelor of Science degrees.</p>
<p>Now, if there are schools where a student can choose Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in the same major, any differences would be school dependent – and if one were looking for specific course work, one would have to ask the student if s/he had that course work.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Y’know, I forgot that UCLA’s masters degree in Math is a M.A. and it is highly ranked…so, it probably would not matter.</p>
<p>I guess my question is more like this. Can I major in pure math with compsci (or physics)
and still end up getting an applied math job such as actuary/ quantitative analyist etc…</p>
<p>Because pure math is really just more fun for me.</p>
<p>Thanks for the discussion and answers. It really helps</p>
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<p>To use UC Berkeley as an example:</p>
<p>Pure Math: 5 freshman/sophomore Math courses, 8 junior/senior Math courses (total 13)
Computer Science: 3 freshman/sophomore CS courses, 1 electronics course, 6-7 junior/senior CS courses (math courses overlap) (total 10-11)
Breadth: 2 reading/writing courses, 4-6 other breadth courses not fulfilled by the majors (total 6-8)</p>
<p>So that is a total of 29-32 courses (a typical student takes about 32 courses over 8 semesters), so not a lot of breathing room. However, many Math majors come in with 5 on AP Calculus BC, so that removes the 2 freshman calculus courses, for a revised total of 27-30 courses. AP English credit may fulfill 1-2 of the reading/writing courses as well.</p>
<p>If actuarial or finance interests you, you probably would want to add about 3 Economics/Finance courses and 2 Statistics courses. That would mean 32-35 courses, requiring some overload semesters (which is doable if one does not put too many heavy computer programming courses together).</p>
<p>You could get a bit more breathing room by downgrading the CS from a major to a minor, taking only 3-4 junior/senior level CS courses (algorithms / complexity, operating systems, networks, and software engineering are probably the highest value if you are looking at industry software development jobs and careers) and not taking the electronics course, for a total of 6-7 instead of 10-11 courses – i.e. 4 fewer courses. That would make the total 28-31 courses, assuming starting with a 5 on AP Calculus BC.</p>
<p>Changing the Pure Math to Applied Math would effectively allow replacing 3 of the junior/senior level Math courses with Math-heavy courses from other subjects like Computer Science, Statistics, and Economics.</p>
<p>Oh ok that’s cool. So basically I could do applied math and take a couple of pure math courses for fun instead of taking pure math? Also, what happens if I have already finished multivariate calculus and differential equations by graduation. Won’t that take a couple of courses off? Also will other schools function like your example?</p>
<p>Multivariable calculus + linear algebra + differential equations is typically a 2 semester or 3 quarter sequence that is nominally for university sophomores. If you have finished those by high school graduation, then you are 4 courses ahead in Math (and that would gain more breathing room in your schedule).</p>
<p>Be aware that junior/senior level Math courses tend to be much more proof and derivation oriented than freshman/sophomore level Math courses; the Math department at the university may have some suggestions about which courses are a more “gentle” transition than others (e.g. Berkeley’s Math department suggests the intermediate linear algebra course is a better first junior level course than analysis).</p>
<p>Yup, I’ll be done with those by high school graduation.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help. What slightly less selective universities are good for these types of things?</p>
<p>You probably want to search for universities that are good in each of those fields, and where the requirements are not so numerous that they will prevent you from taking the desired non-Math courses. If costs are a concern, be sure to check the in-state public schools and private schools known to be generous with need and merit financial aid.</p>
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<p>Umm, Applied Math also has lots of proofs, and you can definitely go to grad school or get a job straight out of college in either case. If you get a job after having a pure math major though, you probably won’t be doing pure math, but you can definitely get a good job.</p>
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<p>I don’t see why not. I believe that to become an actuary, you need to pass a series of tests that you could probably study for on your own pretty easily if you’re a pure math major. And people go into finance all the time after majoring in pure math. Anyways, applied math is a really broad area, which can include things like combinatorics, theoretical computer science, numerical analysis, etc. which are probably as related to finance and stuff as many classes from pure math.</p>
<p>Those interested in an actuarial career may want to check [Be</a> An Actuary - College Students](<a href=“http://www.beanactuary.com/college/]Be”>College Study – Be An Actuary) .</p>
<p>Yeah I was curious because I’m going to take the first actuarial exam in September(this year) of my senior year in hs. Thanks for the link.</p>
<p>Bump up</p>
<p>If I want to become an actuary or something in finance like a quant what are some good places to go for undergrad(Other than the usual MIT/Caltech/Harvard etc…) and what majors/dualmajors/minors are recommended?</p>
<p>Is it best to major in applied math and minor in CS in this case or pure math? Or would I have to go to business school or something to be a quant?</p>
<p>If you want to become an actuary, where you get your degree from isn’t nearly as important as how many actuarial exams you can pass. Statistics might be your best bet for a major if there’s no actuarial science program.</p>
<p>If you want to go into quantitative finance, there’s a couple of graduate programs in mathematical finance/financial mathematics that feed directly into Wall Street (e.g. NYU’s). To prepare for these, you want a quantitative undergraduate major (math, statistics, physics, economics…) from a solid undergraduate school, maybe with a couple of business and programming classes thrown in.</p>
<p>Real math isn’t computational. Pure math is as far as away from a waste of time as possible.</p>
<p>There’s a reason that math is called “the queen of the sciences.” Given its generality, it’s applicable in almost anything–from finance to software engineering to whathaveyou. The most intelligent people come out of math, because it requires logic, clarity of mind, creativity, the ability to see insights and disparate connections, etc.</p>