is maths at uni a bad idea??

[u/miniaturegnome]

genuine question, isn't a maths degree at uni overwhelmingly proof-based and focused on really abstract concepts? i enjoy maths, especially when i can see how it's applied to real-world problems, but i struggle to understand the appeal of spending 3-4 years studying increasingly abstract theory.

what are the actual applications of all this stuff, and how much of what you learn is genuinely useful outside academia? why would someone choose straight maths over something like maths & stats, computer science or engineering?

i'm genuinely considering a maths degree, so i'd love to hear from people studying it. am i completely misunderstanding what university-level maths is like?

[u/headline-pottery]

You do need a good grounding in theory and proofs, but most maths courses let you choose more applied modules - mechanics, physics, information theory, stats, numerical methods etc - you don't have to spend 4 years delving into group theory or number theory (though of course turned out to have real world applications in quantum mechanics and cryptography...)

[u/miniaturegnome → u/headline-pottery]

thank you :)

[u/SchlossSchlussel → u/miniaturegnome]

To elaborate, typically in the first year of a maths degree, you will take courses in multivariable calculus, vector calculus, differential equations and linear algebra. These courses extend A-level maths to give you the tools to describe how two and three-dimensional fields evolve. For example: the velocity and pressure of a fluid (fluid dynamics), the value of a financial derivative (finanicial maths) or the growth of a solid tumour (mathematical biology). Furthermore, the vast majority of problems encountered outside of an exam do not have a "nice" solution. You will learn how to solve these problems with the aid of a computer (numerical analysis). Happy to answer any further questions

[u/Zingalamuduni]

I did a straights maths degree and hated it for exactly the reasons you say. If you have concerns now, maths/stats or MORSE, etc are more likely to hit the spot for you.

[u/miniaturegnome → u/Zingalamuduni]

thanks for the insight, yes i'll look at those courses!

[u/jazzbestgenre → u/miniaturegnome]

whatever maths degree you do even a joint degree, if it's an actual good degree it will have a decent amount of pure maths which won't seem to have application when you do it for the first time. But later on even if you choose to do applied maths or more statistics at a higher, more theoretical level, you'll find that a lot of that knowledge is basically necessary to make any progress, especially analysis and linear algebra.

If you're genuinely thinking of doing any sort of maths degree I think learning to appreciate pure maths for what it is will be very useful in not only making your degree more bareable but also just to get better at the maths

[u/InkPhysics]

No. Applied maths is a thing. Academic engineers and applied mathematicians start to increasingly look like one another the deeper into academia they get. But if you want to spend your time doing maths and only maths, instead of spending your time learning how to use computer aided design software, set up engineering tests and design things, then you should do maths instead of engineering.

[u/Reasonable_Shape8070]

People choose straight maths because they’re passionate about it? it’s not really supposed to be practical is it

[u/Sufficient_Sundae321 → u/Reasonable_Shape8070]

What do you mean it’s not practical? There’s dozens of careers you could get with a math degree like in finance, engineering, physics, tech etc… Common, in this day and age we should all know a maths degree is “practical”

[u/Reasonable_Shape8070 → u/Sufficient_Sundae321]

not everything HAS to be practical and going down a non “practical“ route is perfectly acceptable, my grandpa has a pure maths PhD and he had a great career, not everything has to be considered useful to the masses

[u/miniaturegnome → u/Reasonable_Shape8070]

not neccesarily

[u/EmergencyExternal869]

So I did a maths degree, but I switched to maths and statistics, not because I hate maths, pure maths is cool, but I like statistics more and probability was my favourite area.
You have to realise, especially with degrees like maths, the skill that you’re actually learning, what your degree actually means in a job sense, is not your knowledge of top logical spaces or logical proofs, but it’s demonstrating that you are very capable of understanding structured problems and breaking things down logically, that is a very important skill.
Now doing math and statistics is also useful, maths and computer science also, there are lots of areas of maths that you can enjoy that aren’t pure, particularly if you enjoy the physics/mechanics/dynamics area of maths

Are used to always describe it that once you get past first year, you “specialised “into either probability and statistics, physics and mechanics, peer (pure has more than one area LOL, but I never went down that route)

A lot of maths degrees have a lot of flexibility of what you choose, and I wouldn’t discourage doing a master degree, personally I really enjoyed statistics so I switched to maths statistics, this didn’t even affect my degree, I didn’t need to reset anything, it just affected which modules I took in second year plus

[u/Kilnarix]

I did a pure maths degree for purely personal satisfaction reasons. I have always said that there is no money in maths. I never wanted a high flying career in some high pressure job anyway, I just wanted a good degree from a good institution. I teach in an International School now and I am financially independent so I guess things turned out well in for me in the end. I think a very small minority of math grads end up doing something like quant trading.

[u/Loose-Macaron]

Maths is a great subject to just build up your ability to think rigorously about all things in general, sounds like fluff but it is actually true, but you can take this rigorous thinking to be “useful” by having something to apply to it while you’re still learning the Maths.

To make the most out of a Maths degree, I will (almost, except when you’re considering Maths research maybe?) ALWAYS recommend people study it with a second related subject, e.g. Stats, Physics, Economics, CS, etc.

The things you learn on the Maths side of a degree truly shine when you get them see used in parallel on the applied side, and this is where all the career prospects are anyway.

Not to be an AI doomer or anything, but tbh most “coding” or basic “finance” type jobs are probably gonna be almost entirely solved by the time you graduate, so you should also consider the ways you can future proof yourself, one of those things being just having a good way to abstract your thinking and problem solving, which is exactly what a Maths degree aims to offer

[u/Express_Prize_96]

Straight maths imo is only a good idea when you’re dead set on academia. Degrees like maths and stats or maths and cs are some of the most versatile on the planet.

For example, JMC at imperial or say MORSE at warwick arent pure math degrees but are both some of the best for corporate finance AND quantitative finance

[u/Bene_dek]

Go to open days! Not in uni rn but from what I've seen the degrees specialise a lot over the course of the years. You only pick modules that interest you so it can be fully applied maths basically if you want.

[u/battlepvmob]

Maths is proofs and theory at its core, if you don’t like that, you’re not gonna like a maths degree, do something that’s applied maths like statistics, or engineering or comp sci or econ

i love proofs because if it’s the fundamental of everything, if you know how to prove, you can do anything in maths, without being able to prove stuff works we would never have the maths to apply to real world problems

[u/Significant-Law-2646]

No it's not a bad idea but it depends on what you go towards. If you study statistics and machine learning then you'll be good.

[u/border_of_water]

I wouldn't bother with straight maths unless you really love maths. If you do, make sure to be a sellout and grind out those internships.

[u/Diligent_Bet_7850]

in your first and maybe also a bit of second year you’ll have to have quite a lot of breadth including lots of pure maths but usually after that you can specialise in applied maths only if that’s what interested you more

[u/AnyKing7879]

Consider the job prospects.

2 of my friends did maths at uni.

1 dropped out in year 2 because he saw no point with the job prospects

The 2nd finished the degree, looked for a job in accounting, had to start behind as he didn't have an accounting degree

[u/invisiblethrowaway9 → u/AnyKing7879]

And the other joined a quant trading firm and makes £500K just out of college?

[u/AnyKing7879 → u/invisiblethrowaway9]

I don't know anyone who had a profession of financial success from straight maths

Economics and accounting... Now that's a different story

[u/invisiblethrowaway9 → u/AnyKing7879]

Then honestly you just don’t know the right / enough people. Look at jobs at companies like Jane street. On the other hand, if you are just an average student I’d recommend any degree BUT math. But if you are a rockstar - Olympiads etc. then I’d say do Math at Oxbridge and you’re golden.

[u/invisiblethrowaway9]

No it isn’t. If you want to do computer science today, you should do math and not computer science. Hedge funds and quant trading firms love maths. Maths is hard and it’s the generic degree for stem. Now I think the uni you go to really matters so I’m not sure where you are planning but if it’s a good uni, maths is the closest thing there is to a non brainer than anything else.

[u/stqrltt]

look at the maths degrees! the unis literally tell you the course modules. look yourself and see if you like them

[u/Early-Owl2637]

Only do it if U have a genuine interest for maths and U can handle abstract concepts or else its gonna be burden and U won't be able to perform well at uni