Hi!
This fall I'm going to the uni. Warsaw University, which is my 1st choice (for now at least) offers a joint course in Math and CS (resulting in two diplomas). Is this a good combination? The course is quite famous for the difficulty and work involved (there's quite the dropout rate AFAIK).
It's worth mentioning that I see my future in the industry. Will BS in Math help me in my job prospects?
Cheers!
MH
That will highly depend on which industry you end up going into. If you go into writing CRM software it probably won't be of tremendous use, but if you go into a business where you're doing robotics, logistics, or probability it could be of tremendous help.
You'll never be upset or regret that you learned too much math.
Edit: I somewhat understated things with "won't be of tremendous use". You may not use it daily but you'll have a better understanding of your codes performance because of it.
If you like math AND you like CS do them both. Alot of the classes are complimentary. At my university it was only 2 extra classes to get a minor in math if you were already CS. So get your math degree too, and come back and help me with this FFT signal analysis program I am working on ;)
Yes absolutely.
Lots of the better coding snippets I've seen -Perfomance and originality related- have a strong math techniques being used ; )
Always Computer Science has been closely related with Mathematics. I don't know details of their degrees but in general having good math and computer science skills will provide you the all the core skills you need for any career in technology. Obviously after that you will need "real world" experience but you shouldn't have a problem of getting that with good core skills.
Hi
Mathematics is known to be the incubator of other areas. Having a sound knowledge in Maths will help you understand Computer Science better.
It also depends on what you want to do in industry - Areas like algorithms, graphics, theory of computation will involve good amount of maths.
cheers
First off do what you love to do and you can't go wrong.
If you love Math and CS awesome! Go for it. However, that's not what you asked. You asked if your choosing the right degrees.
Fist off, read what Joel has to say about interviews, http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/GuerrillaInterviewing3.html, then ask yourself "What do I love to do?"
If you can find the answer to that, you will find the answer you are looking for.
Good employers look for people they are willing to work with, and that's the person who doesn't hate thier job.
If you consider yourself up to the task, by all means go for it.
I almost left with a minor in math without even trying for it when I did CS.
The workload cannot be understated though. It is a TON of work, and it will be extremely difficult if you struggle with math.
If you feel yourself starting to slip, maybe sticking with one is the better choice.
A degree in math is highly useful, but most potential employers don't know it. It takes much self-discipline and self motivation to use it wisely, but opportunities are not going to fall into your lap.
I have come across many math specialists as a computer programmer. They are people who make more money than programmers and tell programmers what to write. Math trains the mind to abstract the business needs into computer processes, which is the invaluable glue that ties them together.
Originally, I trained as a mathematician, but found little opportunity outside academia. Then I once went to a conference in which there was a session on job development. It turned out that every speaker was a mathematician who consulted in the programming industry. The message was clear: learn programming, too, if you want to use your math.
For example, one speaker talked about several projects, but one in particular stood out for me. He was tasked with modeling some data which I forget the details of, but he recognized that Prolog was a language to model it that made everything simple. As a mathematician with programming skills, he was in the unique position to connect those two fields together. The business guys would never have known about Prolog, and the programming guys would have relied on the business guys for specs and muddled through.
All the speakers at the session had similar stories. They were paid great sums to connect business methods and computers together, because the specialists on each side understand their own fields in concrete terms. It takes the ability to see abstractly as mathematicians are trained to create solutions.
But it also takes a certain confidence and work ethic to pursue these opportunities. You need to be your own boss and have the drive and people skills to get the contracts. For those who can do it, the rewards are huge.
I have a degree in Mathematics and Philosophy and write/architect software for a living in a highly technical vertical. It's all about problem solving, thinking logically and thinking creatively. I think that multi-disciplinary study makes it easier for people to approach problems from different angles. Sometimes, people think everything is a nail to their degree hammer.