I recently got accepted through the TAG program at UCSC for computational mathematics. I was wondering If this major had any benefits as opposed to doing pure math. How would the job outlook be after graduation? I’ve achieved A’s in Calc 1 and Calc 2 so far, and am finishing up my math this semester. I’ve also taken a intro to c++ and got an A in that, liked the class but the last few topics were kinda confusing to me. Calc 1 and 2 are fairly mechanical and didn’t really require that much thinking, but i enjoyed it. I know it only gets tougher along the road as I plan to take linear algebra and differential equations this semester along with calc 3, so I just want to get an insight on what to expect in this major.
Thanks
I think it’s a very good major. Some of the hotter areas of CS involve a lot of math, and maybe other than teaching, I doubt there are a lot of jobs for math majors who don’t know how to program.
I have a CS degree, but if I had it to do all over again, I’d go for something like computational math, computational biology, or computational linguistics.
Unless you plan on getting a masters degree in math, I wouldnt do pure math. Keep in mind as you get to higher math courses you’re going to have to write a LOT of proofs (in both pure and computational).
@simba9 can you extroplate? I am looking at careers with good job prospects for a kid that is strong in math but not straight CS.
I am going to be honest with you.
The CS knowledge you need for programming for 90+% of the programming profession will only necessitate the knowledge of first two or three semesters of CS contents. In fact, one of my friends who actually interned at Google had taken only one introductory programming course at the time of internship.
So a CS degree is usually overkill in the workforce. Honestly, I have a hard time imagining why knowing NP-Hard and CO-NP-complete, etc. etc. or understanding how Assembly works or how chips operate at an abstract level or figuring out how to prove multiplying two matrices in ~O(n^2.3726) time is of any real use in the current job market.
That stated, are upper level courses of CS pointless? No! Certain professions related to CS might require extensive knowledge in chips or operating systems or databases or networks or ai or animation or graphics, etc.
However, those are of VERY few relative to those out in the job market and will most likely require at least a master’s anyway.
Also, CS degrees are pretty much computational math degrees if you tailor your courses correctly. My ‘CS major’ has Real Analysis series, Cryptography courses, Analysis Algorithms, Modern Algebra series, Differential Equations (PDE, etc.), Differential Geometry, etc.
Pure CS degrees are almost identical in math content to that of pure/applied math degrees if tailored correctly. Of course it might not be the same for your school but it kind of implies how your ‘declared’ major shouldn’t have much effect in your CS or math learning.
I personally support the Computational Math. I (with bias) believe that higher math courses are more academically stimulating than many of the CS counterpart courses. Plus, your interviewer honestly don’t care whether you graduated with CS 1 or CS 10000 (or Calc 1 or Calc 10000000). The interview will probably only care about your ability to answer his questions (and that’s more or less it) so I think it is better to rather enjoy your four years learning what you truly want to learn in.
Sorry for the late response.
Many of the hottest fields in CS, like machine learning, data science, and autonomous vehicles, require a lot of number crunching and analysis, i.e., computational math.
In my opinion, much of what they teach you in a traditional CS program reflects the academic interests of computer science professors rather than the needs of employers. (People always argue with me when I say that, but they seem to be either students, those employed by academia, or those who have never worked in the field at all.) The practical aspects of a degree that starts with the word “Computational” will look very attractive to an employer.