Career as Mathematician

Career as Mathematician

Mathematician-Aryabhata

"Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas."

                                                                                — Albert Einstein

Mathematics can be defined as the scientific study of quantities, including their relationships, operations and measurements expressed by numbers and symbols. In simple words, mathematics deals with study of numbers and their various calculations. The most important skills in mathematics are analysis and reasoning.

A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study or research is mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with particular problems related to logic, space, transformations, numbers and more general ideas which encompass these concepts. They do research, come up with problems and solutions, etc.

Mathematicians solve problems in diverse fields such as medicine, management, economics, banking, government, insurance, computer science, physics, psychology, engineering, bio-mathematics, bio-informatics and weather forecasting.

Mathematics can be pursued with other allied subjects and various careers can be pursued. After BSc Mathematics with B Ed and higher education like MSc Mathematics one can become a teacher. After BSc mathematics followed by MSc stats/ MSc Operations Research one can become a statistician. One can become an economist or Actuary after BSc Mathematics with Economics and higher studies. One can also become a Physical Sciences Observer/Scientist after BSc Mathematics, MSc Physics. A career in life sciences can be pursued with BSc Mathematics combined biology.

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Courses and Eligibility

At the undergraduate level, mathematics is offered as one of the combinations both for B.A. and B.Sc. courses. In some universities, it can be taken up as the principal or honors subject. While universities and colleges generally consider merit or marks in 10+2 or equivalent for admissions to courses, some institutes of repute hold entrance examination. Students with mathematics at 10+2 level are eligible to take maths as a subject for graduation. ISI and CMI admit students on the basis of a written test. Both ISI and CMI also admit students who have qualified in the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad (INMO), or are Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) fellows.

Where To Study/College

• Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Bangalore; Course: Bachelors degree in Maths
• Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI), Chennai; Course: B.Sc degree in Math and Computer Science
• Madurai – Kamraj University; Course: Numerical Mathematics
• Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya; Course: Mathematical Economics
• University of Pune and North Maharashtra University; Course: Industrial Mathematics
• Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women; Course: Business Statistics and Biostatistics
• University of Madras; Course: Applied Statistics
• Delhi University (DU) has a range undergraduate programs. About 900 seats in total are being offered across colleges in the DU for UG programmes in mathematics.

At the Master’s degree level, Mathematics is offered by more than 135 universities in India. The courses are offered by the Departments or Schools of Mathematics. Often there is one department or school for both mathematics and computer science. The nomenclature of the award is both M.A. and M.Sc. Some universities make a distinction between Pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.

Student can also apply for an Integrated MSc-PhD degree offered at some places in India. Some of the institutes offering integrated MSc-PhD programmes are-

• Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai (through a written test and followed by an interview)
• The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai (admits through NBHM exam followed by an interview)
• Harish Chandra Research Institute (HRI), Allahabad (through a test followed by an interview)
• An Integrated MSc degree offered by the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) at Pune, Mohali, Kolkata, Trivandrum and Bhopal, and also at the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) at Bhubaneswar. The IISER admits students via IIT JEE, KVPY and through board exam performances. While the NISER admits students through the National Entrance Screening Test (NEST).

A student can also opt for an Integrated MSc in math offered by University of Hyderabad, which admits students through a written test. Various central universities also have the Integrated programme.

Pondicherry University and IITs offer five year integrated courses in the subject after school. Besides courses in general, pure, and applied mathematics, a small number of programmes are available in such topics as Computational Mathematics (of Mathematics with Computer Applications), Mathematical Statistics, and Mathematical Economics, Mathematics with Computer Application, Industrial Mathematics, and Functional Mathematics.

Career Prospects

Mathematicians work in fields of statistics, actuarial sciences, mathematical modeling, cryptography, computer science; for teaching at both school and college level and a research career in mathematics, statistics and bio-informatics. A strong background in mathematics is also necessary for research in many areas of computer science, social science, and engineering. Knowledge of maths is applied in all fields of work, from creating software systems to the field of investigation in areas like brain mapping, in lie-detector machines, fingerprinting, etc. Also in art, the application of maths has become important for preservation of historic sculptures, paintings and works of ancient artists.

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