What's the most difficult mathematics-based careers?

String theory.

Also, I wan't trying to be a total ass when I said IQ . . . which is a pretty garbage indicator of talent in my opinion. I just guessed 50% of the population applied to this undergrad, 20% were accepted%, 20% of those were accepted to this grad school, and 1 our of 10 people in these classes were alien-smart... which is about 3 SD above mean . . . but now I do feel like an ass just explaining that.

ANYWAYS OP you can do a hell of a lot with a good attitude like this!

The most difficult math based career is becoming a college professor. Getting a PhD can be next to impossible. Getting your first job is harder than getting the PhD. Getting tenure is an even higher hurdle to get over. Math is also very PC, so if you don't fit into certain categories, it will be even more of a challenge to survive the process.

If you want something challenging where your odds of succeeding are reasonable, study financial engineering or actuarial science. You will only need a bachelors or masters degree and you will quickly make 6 figures a year. There is also no shortage of jobs in these two areas.

If you like working with your hands and like machines, why not study mechanical engineering? That uses math and is also very intellectually demanding. You can also get a decent job with that degree.

mathPhDdude wrote:

The most difficult math based career is becoming a college professor. Getting a PhD can be next to impossible. Getting your first job is harder than getting the PhD. Getting tenure is an even higher hurdle to get over. Math is also very PC, so if you don't fit into certain categories, it will be even more of a challenge to survive the process.

If you want something challenging where your odds of succeeding are reasonable, study financial engineering or actuarial science. You will only need a bachelors or masters degree and you will quickly make 6 figures a year. There is also no shortage of jobs in these two areas.

If you like working with your hands and like machines, why not study mechanical engineering? That uses math and is also very intellectually demanding. You can also get a decent job with that degree.

I should be clear that I have no interest in getting a PhD or pursuing the academic route, because the trends in employment at universities. It doesn't seem positive, to say the least.

I've thought about mechanical engineering, but my brother got a mechanical engineering degree and he isn't that smart, so by comparison...

Well just because your brother is an ME and not smart, it does not logically follow all MEs aren't smart. He is one of thousands, myself included.

Most people don't want to be in academia given how tough it is. However, you can get A LOT of awesome free education from MIT . . . it's a great site for anybody interested in learning.

booboomagoo wrote:

Also, I wan't trying to be a total ass when I said IQ . . . which is a pretty garbage indicator of talent in my opinion. I just guessed 50% of the population applied to this undergrad, 20% were accepted%, 20% of those were accepted to this grad school, and 1 our of 10 people in these classes were alien-smart... which is about 3 SD above mean . . . but now I do feel like an ass just explaining that.

ANYWAYS OP you can do a hell of a lot with a good attitude like this!

Nah, I totally get what you mean. But a lot of very smart people pursue areas other than math (whether quantitative or not), so there is some degree of selection bias (of course, not all of those smart people could be first-rate mathematicians). For some reason I decided to pursue graduate degrees in math, law, and two disciplines "in between," and you definitely get different personality types but also very smart people on all ends of the quantitative spectrum.

Counting beans.

Practicing armchair mathematics from one's basement lair doesn't count as a legitimate career, OP. You may want to consider the source before heeding any advice on this thread.

oh that's very cool. I did the same thing but with mechanical engineering and patent law. Which one do you practice now?

V1per41 wrote:

rib nerd wrote:

I don't know if it's the most difficult but if you like math, consider being an actuary.

Actuary here.

Probably not the most difficult, but it's up there. In order to become a fellow, where the real money is, you will have to pass a series of exams -- usually about 8. The first 5 are pure math.

These are exams are only taken by people who are very good at math, and they each have a passing rate of about 40-50%.

Pros: Actuary is one of the top professions in the country. It has low stress levels, little travel, & high pay.

Cons: Be prepared to have very little social life for the next 4 - 8 years as you would spend most of your free time studying and taking exams.

Viper what are your hours like as an actuary? Also, do you need to get a specific degree, and if so, what programs/universities are the most respected in your opinion?

Quant finance. or modeling of any "big data" sets.

Have to agree with math teacher.

Demon Deacon wrote:

Quant finance.

This!

Engineers don't work with their hands anymore, they design through computation.

booboomagoo wrote:

kartelite wrote:

Nah, I totally get what you mean. But a lot of very smart people pursue areas other than math (whether quantitative or not), so there is some degree of selection bias (of course, not all of those smart people could be first-rate mathematicians). For some reason I decided to pursue graduate degrees in math, law, and two disciplines "in between," and you definitely get different personality types but also very smart people on all ends of the quantitative spectrum.

oh that's very cool. I did the same thing but with mechanical engineering and patent law. Which one do you practice now?

Actually am back in school at the moment, but work background is mostly in finance. Taking some time to work on doing something more entrepreneurial. I don't actually have a "hard science" degree so patent law isn't something I could have considered.

Designing high frequency trading systems.

booboomagoo wrote:

Viper what are your hours like as an actuary? Also, do you need to get a specific degree, and if so, what programs/universities are the most respected in your opinion?

I'll also chime in as an actuary. Though I am not fully credentialed, I've only passed 5 of the 8 exams.

1) I probably work 9.5 hours a day M-F when not studying for an exam. During exam season I probably work 6 hours, study 2 hours paid for by the company, and study 2 hours on my own. And study 3-8 hours per day on weekends.

My bosses work longer hours. My immediate boss is always there when I arrive, and also when I leave. Sometimes I'll study until after 7 pm at the office and my boss's boss is still there. Sometimes he sends emails at midnight, 3 am, 5 am.

2) No specific degree is needed. I changed careers and did so by only taking the exams. But I know one guy who went back to get a second bachelors in act sci, and others who got masters. I recommend my way since it is cheapest and potentially fastest, because all options lead to the same place. You're judged primarily by your exam progress, though there are other things which could help you.

I work in the Hartford, CT area. UConn and Columbia both stand out as actuarial programs, but I'm sure there are others. The Society of Actuaries maintains a list of centers of actuarial excellence. That is probably the list you want, I'm sure you can Google it.

Logical Man wrote:

Engineers don't work with their hands anymore, they design through computation.

Yea, that's what I understand as well from talking with all my engineer friends.

booboomagoo wrote:

job seeker wrote:

I've thought about mechanical engineering, but my brother got a mechanical engineering degree and he isn't that smart, so by comparison...

Well just because your brother is an ME and not smart, it does not logically follow all MEs aren't smart. He is one of thousands, myself included.

Thanks for proving my point.