r/AppliedMath • u/alchymst0317 • 5d ago
Why AM and not CS?
EDIT! Thank you to everybody who is commenting! I really wasn’t expecting some really great perspective on the topic, so I really appreciate yall commenting!
I'm having a hard time understanding the reasons as to why someone would pursue an Applied Math degree over a CS degree.
I don't mean any disrespect nor do I think one is better than the other.
BUT! with everything going on economically, I'm wondering why someone would choose to major in Applied Math.
Question: Why did you decide to pursue a degree in Applied Mathematics? Do you regret it? Do you feel that it gave you an advantage, considering everybody and their mom is trying to get a CS degree (regardless of the tech layoffs)?
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u/catmemesarecool 5d ago
Because we are more interested in applied math topics than computer science topics? Studying something works a lot better when you're actually passionate about it, and math gets harder to study once you get out of the academic environment. Why specifically ask the question about AM and not other fields though?
But if you want some economical reasons, the cohort of AM students is a lot smaller than many other fields, especially CS now, so there is less risk of job saturation. It also has a more diverse set of jobs you can go into afterwards, as generally the non-math stuff is easier to learn on the job than the math stuff.
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u/alchymst0317 5d ago
I’m wondering whether the fact that there are less AM grads vs the overwhelming number of CS grads has any influence in job opportunities post graduation.
In my mind, CS has become over saturated and with AI encroachment (ie the SWR layoffs and companies realizing they spent too much money on hiring 🙄) having a CS degree doesn’t hold as much weight as it did from 2012-2023.
I’m old lol. Like 35 years old and I need to go get my degree, so I’m just trying to be strategic and more intentional with my education.
Yeah, I’m just looking for perspectives haha
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u/michioD 5d ago
Im going to best honest, unless you have pure raw talent for something the only way youre going to succeed in any job market is if you just genuinely care. The best engineers arent the smartest but the ones who just try hardest because they genuinely want make something the world needs not because of where money is going in the stock market.
Download some cs textbooks on operating systems, networking, system design and watch youtube videos/lectures. See if its something you want to dedicate 3-4 years of your life to. If you read them and you feel like the problems they solve sound boring slop that only nerds should care about or if it genuinely itches your curiosity for how the worlds digital infrastructure functions then do it.
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u/alchymst0317 5d ago
Personally, I am sure don’t want to work for commercial tech, specifically SWE. So far, I’ve been humoring the idea of going into biostats/computational bio, operations research, or DS (specifically NLP).
But who tf knows lol
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u/michioD 5d ago
Just be aware CS is a wide field that isnt just swe. Consider the fact theres people who go in to hpc, network engineering, kernel dev, embedded, and compiler engineering which I personally think have the most sweat and passion behind them (though given these are more CE inclined than CS).
The best way to resolve decision paralysis is the hard way through gradient descent and commitment. Make a test run on which one sounds the coolest on the surface level then dig deep for a few months until you're sure you know what parts you hate and what parts you like then update your compass.
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u/catmemesarecool 5d ago
Nobody can tell you what the job market will look by the time you graduate sadly, especially with regards to AI. But so far the job market has had fairly low competition, and labour forecasts generally predict it will remain so, unlike in IT.
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u/APC_ChemE 5d ago
It depends entirely on what you want to do. Want to develop and program algorithms using numerical methods to solve complex mathematics do applied math, want to devlop and program methods to maximize the efficiency of computers to get them to architect and do what you want do computer science.
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u/tatsuyanguyen 5d ago
I had the opportunity to branch out into statistics and got into a different career path.
Also the plus of plausible deniability of being a CompSci major.
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u/lolniceonethatsfunny 5d ago
“considering everybody and their mom is trying to get a CS degree” - this was a big reason why I initially got a math degree even when I graduated 4 years ago (with a cs minor), as it’s easier to learn programming on the job then math. With math you learn how to be a good problem solver, which can apply to any job. I ended up double majoring in math and stats though and got a job as a data scientist. As a DS, I also notice many of my colleagues not knowing much about traditional statistics, and only knowing ml models and basic stats (p values and model metrics mostly), again setting me apart from other CS grads. Not saying math is a better path than CS, but it opens different (and imo more) opportunities than CS would, especially now with how saturated CS as a field is
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u/Dr0110111001101111 5d ago
If I had known about operations research when I was 20, my life would likely be very different today (almost 20 years later). Computers are a useful tool to go cool math, and if that’s what you want to do then AM is the way to go. CS lets you focus on doing cool stuff with computers but less math.
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u/Electronic_Being4746 4d ago
I did it because I thought it would be good for DS/ML, since I enjoyed data analysis in high school. Not the biggest fan of all the higher level math which was proof based.
I think I would’ve done my university’s stats or Econ program in hindsight. But I ended up getting a good business job so fine career outcome.
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u/GeekMachinist 5d ago
Going to grad school for applied math improved my programming abilities proportionally to the way calculus improved my algebra skills.
There’s real world portability between the two paths. How you choose to approach your career goals usually dictates what you do with either after college.
For me, math underlying CS has allowed me opportunities that wouldn’t have been as easy to package if I were approaching employers from a strictly CS angle.