I believe that most people had the experience of learning Mathematics in the earlier study. Do you like studying Mathematics? I used to be obsessed with this subject in middle school though many other people thought Mathematics was the worst subject to study in middle school. 

For today’s passion blog, I will be talking about the Major I’m willing to start with for my undergraduate degree – Mathematics. Though almost all students know Mathematics, very few people think about “Why do we study Mathematics? What is the purpose of this subject?” For example, studying a language enables us to communicate with more people in the world. Studying science helps us to understand the pattern of the natural world. What does Mathematics study for? With this question in mind, I looked it up online.

“Mathematics majors study the relationships between numbers, structures, and patterns. The classes range from algebra to statistics, and the concepts build on one another” (“What You Need to Know About Becoming a Mathematics Major”). From studying algebra, calculus, geometry, and the different equations, students need to use the foundation of knowledge to solve problems. In addition, Mathematics study can be divided into two types, pure mathematics, and applied mathematics. Usually, colleges differentiate these two types of mathematics. What is the difference between the two?

The easiest way to understand applied mathematics is to interpret its name. Basically, applied mathematics is applying mathematics to practical situations or real-world problems. It sounds like what engineering students do. That’s right. They are very similar in a way. In addition, applied mathematics students are required to take different courses for various problem-solving skills. The courses include combinatorics, computer science, economics and finance, and statistics and data science. Some majors students find internships at companies and organizations to learn on-the-job skills in areas like risk modeling at banks or financial institutions, accounting at accounting firms, or analysis anywhere from financial firms to hospitals. Therefore, studying applied mathematics helps students to find jobs in a variety of areas.

The second type of mathematics majors is pure mathematics. It is maths done for its own sake. Many programs require pure mathematics majors to take several courses of algebra that build upon one another. The same could go for calculus, analysis, geometry, logic, number theory, probability and statistics, and topology. The students studying it do not have to solve real-world problems. Instead, they are asked to do proofs, implying a good understanding of the subject matter. Also, pure mathematics is regarded as the hardest part of mathematics though students are not required to study on-the-job skills what applied mathematics students do. Therefore, there is always a job finding problem for students who study pure mathematics. 

If it were me, I think I would be appealing to study applied mathematics. From solving real-world problems, I gain a feeling of accomplishment than just thinking about math theory. In addition, job finding is a big concern for me. Studying applied math is more friendly for me to find a job. 

Cited:

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/mathematics-major-overview#:~:text=Mathematics%20majors%20study%20the%20relationships,are%20valuable%20to%20future%20employers.