<p>Knowing I'll be in college next year, I've been considering other majors outside the realm of engineering. One of the ones that I've stumbled upon that most of the school to which I'm applying have is Applied Mathematics. From what I've been able to figure out, this seems to be a more math-based form of an engineering major, as opposed to the more design/concept based majors in real engineering. A general definition I've come up with is it's the application of math (duh!) to real world situations.</p>
<p>I'm looking for someone who knows a little bit more about it to maybe fill me in. What does it really entail? How are the classes for it? What types of jobs are available to those with a degree in applied mathematics? Etc..</p>
<p>The point of applied math is to take the elements of a practical problem and reduce them to problems of mathematical analysis. When I took a class in discrete applied math, I wrote my term paper in mathematical neuroscience - specifically, mathematical modeling of orientation selectivity in visual cortex neurons.</p>
<p>If you actually want to do engineering, you're probably better off majoring in engineering than applied math. A possible exception is if you are interested in theoretical computer science, in which case applied math would be highly useful (you could use it to get a grounding in algorithm design, complexity and computational theory, information theory, number theory as applied to problems like encryption, and so on). Some jobs that actually tend to be held by applied mathematicians include actuaries, statisticians, cryptanalysts, and operations research analysts.</p>