Applied Mathematician

Mathematics gets used all the time in daily life, whether in obvious ways, such as adding up a bill, or obscure ones, such as using a cell phone app. Applied Mathematicians are well aware of how math affects everyday life. In fact, Applied Mathematicians spend their days using it to solve problems.

Mathematicians are loosely separated into two different categories: theoretical and applied. Theoretical Mathematicians are the ones interested in theories, while Applied Mathematicians deal with how math can solve practical problems.

This type of job is found in many different industries, like business, economics, government, and engineering. You can find work pretty much anywhere there’s a company or organization that needs a calculated answer to a problem they’re trying to solve. The work you do can help a company create a more aerodynamic car, figure out how many routes it needs to be successful, or find more cost-effective ways of running its business.

Since most issues don’t come neatly packaged in a set math problem, a major part of your job involves breaking down a problem into something that can be solved with numbers. For example, you might work for a research lab and be in charge of deciding if a drug is safe or not. You create a mathematical model that lets you input the research findings and turn them into numbers. Once you have a clear problem to solve, you can then use statistics or other math equations to figure out how many doses a person can safely take and how many milligrams must be included in each pill.