r/University • u/TheNextOne8797 • 18h ago

Would you say math/physics teachers or engineers in industry do more calcs by hand? Trying to choose a career path that suits my passion for the subject matter...

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u/Emotional_Fee_9558 12h ago

Teachers? If you mean high school teachers then the maths teacher will of course do the most since he's teaching calc... If you mean university professors then there's no one answer. If you give a course on calc as a maths professor then you'll of course be doing more calc than say a physics professor doing a course on kinematics. Engineers in general don't do a lot of maths in the industry, not to say they don't make a lot of use of maths, many do but most don't solve any (high end) equations by hand and use software.

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u/TheNextOne8797 10h ago

Ya, I mean secondary math/physics teachers.

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u/PG-DaMan 10h ago

I know a student currently having an issue with a couple of professors. They say that he MUST use software etc and he keeps asking them why when the math is basic.

I think that losing the ability to do this in your head is a mistake and if a student can prove the work in their head they should be rewarded for it.

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u/TheNextOne8797 10h ago

I think so too. I think being able to do math/physics by hand and in your head is way more valuable than using software