Graduate school for math, Industry job outlook?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the career prospects for a math and physics double major considering graduate school in mathematics, specifically focusing on the implications of pursuing a Ph.D. in pure mathematics for future employment in the tech industry, particularly at companies like Google or Intel.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Career-related
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • A participant expresses a desire to pursue a Ph.D. in pure mathematics while also aiming for a career in a tech company, questioning whether this path might negatively impact job prospects.
  • Another participant suggests that a degree in statistics could be beneficial for roles in tech, particularly in areas like data mining and statistical algorithms.
  • The original poster acknowledges the suggestion about statistics and expresses interest in exploring that field further.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants have not reached a consensus on whether pursuing a Ph.D. in pure mathematics would hinder job opportunities in the tech industry, and multiple viewpoints regarding the relevance of different degrees remain present.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not clarify specific assumptions about the job market or the value of different degrees in relation to tech industry roles.

WormBanshee
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Hello,

I'm a math and physics double major with a minor in computer science. I'm a junior now (starting in the fall). After graduating, I plan to go to graduate school for math (hopefully UCLA, and then I will take a few physics courses during the first two years of the program as well) when I am done with my undergrad. I would like to follow all the way through and get my Ph.D. Right now, I'm considering studying Analysis.

After that, the idea of working in academia is very appealing, but not right away. Before that, I want to have a job working for some place like Google, or Intel. Some sort of cool engineering job with a big tech company.

I was wondering if going all the way through with a Ph.D. program in pure math would be a bad thing if I want to do this first? Would it ever hurt my chances of getting this sort of job? Are there other things I could do to help my chances?

(I did post this in the career guidance page, but with no responses. I decided this page was more relevant, so posted it here now. I tried to delete that one, or move it here, but couldn't figure it out. Sorry for the spam.)
 
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...anyone? Sorry to bump it like this, but it has officially left the first page.
 
Hey WormBanshee and welcome to the forums.

I don't know about Pure Math PhDs, but statistics is a very good degree for something like google, especially when it comes to statistical approaches for pattern recognition, data mining, and statistical algorithmic approaches for general domains.

You might want to consider what this guy said:

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks so much for the reply :)

I never really thought about statistics being used for that kind of stuff. I guess I'll be taking that class for a spin the next time I get the chance :) thanks!
 

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