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Sherlock Holmes Investigates: Math

Photo 6161Investigating the top majors, Sherlock Holmes is on the case. You can profile your picks and review the evidence to find the sure-fire academic answers you've been looking for...

Study Case #6

Mathematics

Faculty:
Science, sometimes arts, and some schools have a math faculty.

Most common associations:
Governments, academic institutes, various companies.

Quick description:
Math means numbers, and numbers mean everything. From the early dawn of the world, math has been in demand- finding numbers and explaining them. Math is strong on logic, problem solving and analysis. Some areas of interest may include money, finance and economics, which revolve around math, applied math as used in science and engineering concepts, computer science, or pure math and research. Math can lead you in many directions and to many careers.

What your major will do for you:
Math really is everywhere, so this degree can do a lot for you. From getting great careers (which we'll get to in a jiffy) to managing your personal life, it's all about the math. Calculate and budget your own money to maximize savings, use geometry to renovate your home, finding out different probabilities and statistics of your favourite sports teams, it all involves numbers. In addition, math will allow you to see the world in a simpler way, developing your logic and quantitative skills to the point where things can be explained easily. Math is involved in all of the sciences as well as other areas, so it will open up doors to various other questions about life and the world.

Careers:
Mathematics can lead you to countless different careers. There are 2 general streams open for math grads, pure math being the first. You can join the academy and become a teacher or professor, nurturing the love of math into others. You can also conduct research on such areas as number theory, complex analysis, and many other fascinating topics. The other stream is applied math. Use your knowledge of math to work for companies or the government as a statistician, calculating risks and probabilities in areas ranging from medicine and sports to military defence and agriculture. Get into finance or banking using your ability to handle numbers and money. Math grads are in demand everywhere due to their knowledge and skills.


Reaching for an explanation by Unhindered by Talent

Skills:
Successful Mathematics graduates come out of school with many skills and lessons learned.
  • Logical Thinking: Solving math problems and working with numbers greatly develops your logic. Having logic means being able to reason correctly based on knowledge, experience and intuition. This means studying math will allow you to analyze situations and apply lessons to many real world problems. Logical thinking will make you a valuable employee that can be used to assess and resolve obstacles.
  • Organization Skills: There is nothing more organized than math. The numbers have to flow in a certain direction and be clear in order for a correct solution to be reached effectively. You'll be using organization techniques while analyzing raw data for statistics or analyzing financial statements. These organizations skills will allow you to manage time, money, and your life efficiently and quickly.
  • Research Skills: Learning mathematics involves a lot of research. You'll base your answers on works by such great names as Euclid, Descartes and Fermat, and you'll have to look their theories up. Thus, you'll learn how to locate and identify reliable sources, which will be important. Research is an important aspect of math and science in general, and these skills will serve you well especially if you go into academics.
  • Problem Solving: Taking theories, laws and experimental procedures and putting them into real world concepts will allow you to solve problems. In conjunction with logic and organization, you'll quickly become a great problem solver not only of differential equations and trigonometric challenges, but also of real-life scenarios.
  • Patience and Persistence: Math isn't always as easy as one-two-three. Sometimes you'll spend hours, days or weeks on challenging questions. This takes a lot of time, and a lot of patience. As well, sometimes things don't work as expected, and you'll have to be persistent and keep working on your projects despite setbacks. Studying math will allow you to develop these admirable skills, which will be highly useful in the future.

Working Part 2 by totalAldo

How to Prepare:
Coming out of high school and not sure how to start your mathmatical career? You should have a few courses under your belt. Maths and sciences are obvious picks- trig, algebra, geometry, and some physics and chemistry can't hurt for the applied component. But don't be shy about those other courses- English, history, philosphy- they all develop your logical reasoning and problem solving skills in rela world situations.

Many math students benefit from participating in extra curricular activities that demonstrate things like communication and leadership skills. To expand your math activities, write a math contest, join your math club in school, or volunteer as a park or zoo helper.

If you're thinking of doing a Master's Degree, you will first need to most likely have an undergraduate degree, and the desire to learn and do a lot more in math.

Mathematics Majors? It's elementary, my dear Watson. Till next time!



References

WorldWideLearn. "Math and Statistics Major". Last Updated on October 17th, 2007. Accessed on August 1st, 2008. WorldWideLearn.com

Sherlock Holmes. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/photogallery/holmes_photogallery1.shtml>

Sherlock Holmes, <http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2007/03/16/sherlock-holmes-edgy.jpg>
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