mathematics or computers

[choof]

Re: mathematics or computers

I don't think I have a specific career in mind, although I think it's inevitable that I'll land in IT because that's what I've been doing for years already

I honestly wouldn't mind doing anything in IT, whether it's in security, forensics, software, theory, etc. There are things about each field that I enjoy, or that I would look forward to doing.

[gold stinger]

Re: mathematics or computers

mathematics or computers?

computers.

[Trumpet63]

Re: mathematics or computers

Hi choof... kinda cool to see all of these responses to your problem. Since I've had similar concerns before, I like to weigh in as well.

I've been going to community college here in Florida for about three years part-time to get an Associates Degree. I'm graduating this May with a general AA degree (Associates in Arts). An AA is generally considered a transfer degree, for people who wish to pursue further education, as I do. You're looking at AS and AAS, which generally have fewer gen-ed classes, and are perhaps less transferable if you were looking to get a Bachelors. If you were going to get a Bachelors at some point, you'd probably have to do more gen-ed.

An AA was a good choice for me because I have/had very little job experience, and generally don't enjoy the idea of climbing the corporate ladder. I have aspirations to later pursue a career in mathematics (or sooner, depending on how it goes), so that definitely means further education. I also have no love for IT, because the idea of teaching people how to use a computer makes me just a little suicidal. I'd much rather look into programming work, and specifically video game programming, which is why I plan to apply to a degree program for computer science, and possibly turn it into computer engineering.

Now, from what I understand about math, and from what you've said about your experience so far (AP calc), you have no idea about what to expect from the field of mathematics. I've been working for my college as a math tutor and a TA for more than two years, and everyone I've talked to, as well as the research I've done, has made me absolutely certain that, on the grand scale of things, calculus, diff eq, and linear algebra are all basic math classes. Unfortunately I can't speak from too much experience on what Bachelor's-level math classes are like, you might ask reuben for more info, because I've only taken up to Calc 2, ie only single-variable calculus, but in general, a career in math involves 4+ years more education after your Associates if you plan on getting anywhere ie becoming a professor, or doing research.

That said, dude you're only getting an Associates, you're supposed to be clueless! If you do well in your classes, you can stay in school for however long you want, and from a practical perspective, it depends on what you want to be doing when you're 50 years old what kind of education you need, and even then you can always go back to school.

In short, get an AA if you want to transfer, or stick with AS/AAS if you want to work sooner, and you can always go back to school.

[choof]

Re: mathematics or computers

that's honestly what's so exciting about math, I don't know shit about it beyond a basic level and I'd really like to be challenged. it's like... knowledge for the sake of knowledge, or something.

the certifications that the network security program mention (CCNA, Sec+) I've studied for and if I had the money, I could spend 3 days brushing up and could get them with no problem. with any IT program, I'd be at a huge advantage.

[Trumpet63]

Re: mathematics or computers

P.S. If you want to get a taste of math, check out youtube.com/Numberphile

[choof]

Re: mathematics or computers

pretty sure I've watched every numberphile video posted

[Trumpet63]

Re: mathematics or computers

<3 lol
Yeah so, try it, see what you think. I'm in love with math, and have yet to be challenged by it in a class setting, but I use it all the time to do stuff here on FFR (literally my job description is "Design and Math"). If you do what you want to do, and give yourself the chance to try things, you'll end up happy in the end. It's not as big a decision as you think it is.

[Reincarnate]

Re: mathematics or computers

Project Euler ftw

Not that I'm biased or anything. ;P

[lurker]

Re: mathematics or computers

math
http://www.csn.edu/PDFFiles/Degree%2...talog%2091.pdf

oh it's an associate's degree program
that looks pretty versatile but i don't think it's helpful unless you're planning on getting a bachelor's too (not necessarily math)

[choof]

Re: mathematics or computers

yeah, I plan on doing two years full time student and then transfering to unlv as a part time student while working

[Zapmeister]

Re: mathematics or computers

i'm currently doing a masters degree in maths and i hate it (even though i loved undergrad). let me know if you have any questions about studying maths. i might make another post in here later if i can ever be bothered

[Jousway]

Re: mathematics or computers

math

spend ya day calculating shit!

computer

spend ya day calculating shit to make a calculater that calculates math calulation shit for you!

[stargroup100]

Re: mathematics or computers

well with my experiences in math, good things to check out are:

numberphile is "popular" math that's supposed to appeal to the masses. doesn't really help you learn too much, it's mostly just to inspire an interest imo

project euler is really nice for those who take math a bit more seriously and want to truly learn something. while there are a lot of cool theory things to learn, the vast majority of the first like 50 problems you'll be doing are going to be related to programming algorithms

the most elegant math problems i've ever seen imo come from the AMC and putnam. a large majority of the problems can be found from here. there's a massive range in difficulties but they're all designed to challenge you and really push your problem solving skills


as for career choices, I'd say listen to rubix and lurker as they'll probably know what they're talking about

[benguino]

Re: mathematics or computers

math

spend ya day calculating shit!

computer

spend ya day calculating shit to make a calculater that calculates math calulation shit for you!

Calculating things isn't the only goal when it comes to math :P

Also, there are some limitations to what a computer can do. For example, you can't compute functions that aren't Turing computable. Also, computers are good at doing some math things, but a computer lacks intuition to be able to do certain things efficiently such as theorem proving.

[choof]

Re: mathematics or computers

the more I do freelance IT work and just general computer work for friends and family, the more I start to think about doing math lol

I guess an issue would be that, if I stayed in the IT field, I'd still continue to work alongside people who have nearly no knowledge of computers, even on a basic level.

I've also thought about teaching but only briefly, I think I'd be good at that, maybe.