To be or not to be a math major or minor? That is the question for many BYU students.
On October 16, the Department of Mathematics tried to answer that question by hosting an information session to introduce students to the math major and minor. Department chair Robin Roundy gave a brief introduction to the mathematics program and told students about opportunities available to math graduates.
“The variety of things you can do with mathematics is huge,” he said, “and many of them are extremely exciting. . . . If you become a math major, you will be joining an elite group.”
Several professors in the mathematics department then presented information and their own experiences with math. Dr. Pace Nielsen shared his experience working with students in math research and described his enthusiasm for this research, even when some problems seem to be unsolvable.
“That’s the cool thing about math,” Nielsen said. “You ask these really easy questions, and their answers are hard. It’s hard work. You work at it, and you work at it, and sometimes you solve it and sometimes you don’t. That’s just the joy of mathematics. You enjoy the beauty of it all.”
After Nielsen praised the beauty of math research, Dr. Tyler Jarvis described the beauty of career options for math graduates and illustrated the course map for math majors. Jarvis said that a math degree offers opportunities to work in industries across the board, and that mathematics majors fit several different job descriptions.
“[A job posting] doesn’t necessarily say ‘mathematician,’ but they still want a mathematician,” he said.
He said that math graduates have been hired by Google, Amazon.com, Target, Adobe, Pixar, and the National Security Administration, among others.
To help prepare students for careers in these industries, Dr. Jeff Humphreys introduced the Applied and Computational Mathematics Emphasis (ACME). This emphasis is a relatively new program for math majors that specifically prepares students to work in industries by teaching them important theory relating to data computation.
Getting into industries often requires that students find and participate in internships. The department internship coordinator Lisa Winegar told students about the basics of getting an internship and the benefits of working in one.
“Junior year, [an internship] should be heavy on your mind,” she said. “Right when the fall semester starts, you’re there. . . . You need to find a way to differentiate yourself, and an internship is a solid way to do that.”
To round out the session, student Abby Boekweg shared information about the math student activities council and the Women in Math Club. She told students that the department welcomes suggestions and comments.
Finally, Roundy closed the meeting by encouraging students to move forward and research the majors that interest them.
“If you’re not sure what you’re going to major in, pick one and start taking classes,” he said. “Start talking to people who are in that major and ask them what they’re doing. Ask them to tell you about it. Go talk to a professional and have them tell you about what they’re doing. See if you like it.”
Derek Ostrom, a junior majoring in physics, said that he attended the event primarily to learn more about the ACME major.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the ACME major,” he said. “What I do right now is computational research in the physics program, so I like the computational approach [of ACME]. I’ve been thinking about it, and I just wanted to learn a little bit more.”
Similarly, computer engineering student Hailey Bishoff said that she too has been considering a math major.
“I have a declared major of computer engineering, but calculus has always interested me,” she said. “I just thought I’d come and check it out. . . . I might change my major or maybe I’ll just get a math minor with computer engineering, because that would probably be helpful. I’m definitely going to look into a math major more.”
To be or not to be? That is still the question, but students who attended the event have a little more information to use in their decision-making.