You’re right about software being a good option, but I will caution that it can feel like too much of a change for someone coming from math because the job interviews sometimes assume that you know the CS undergraduate curriculum. The other side of the coin is that being good at advanced math isn’t an advantage in something like web development, except insofar as it has trained you to be hypersensitive to potential errors (bugs) in the code.
As someone who made the move to software from math many years ago, it feels like it was a good short-term decision, but I don’t know if I can make a life-long career of it. Sometimes I wish I’d chosen something that played to my strengths more.
Thanks! Indeed, software development seems like one of the most probable course (my bachelor was in CS, so that's not too far either) but I'd be worried to end up too deep in software development, with no "input" from what I learned studying maths. Ideally, I'd still put this background to good use.
BadCookie: isn't it possible to choose that as a short-term solution, and then slowly navigate to something closer to your strengths?
Sure, but HR departments and recruiters can be (it seems to me) irrationally rigid about job titles. But you can get around that by moving between teams within the same company, or so I’ve heard.
I’ve mostly enjoyed my career and can’t complain about the money, so take my half-hearted regrets with a grain of salt. I’d probably be questioning my career choices no matter what path I had taken! And with your CS degree, you can probably avoid some of the imposter syndrome that I have experienced.
Comments
You’re right about software being a good option, but I will caution that it can feel like too much of a change for someone coming from math because the job interviews sometimes assume that you know the CS undergraduate curriculum. The other side of the coin is that being good at advanced math isn’t an advantage in something like web development, except insofar as it has trained you to be hypersensitive to potential errors (bugs) in the code.
As someone who made the move to software from math many years ago, it feels like it was a good short-term decision, but I don’t know if I can make a life-long career of it. Sometimes I wish I’d chosen something that played to my strengths more.
(Replying to bmitc too:)
Thanks! Indeed, software development seems like one of the most probable course (my bachelor was in CS, so that's not too far either) but I'd be worried to end up too deep in software development, with no "input" from what I learned studying maths. Ideally, I'd still put this background to good use.
BadCookie: isn't it possible to choose that as a short-term solution, and then slowly navigate to something closer to your strengths?
Sure, but HR departments and recruiters can be (it seems to me) irrationally rigid about job titles. But you can get around that by moving between teams within the same company, or so I’ve heard.
I’ve mostly enjoyed my career and can’t complain about the money, so take my half-hearted regrets with a grain of salt. I’d probably be questioning my career choices no matter what path I had taken! And with your CS degree, you can probably avoid some of the imposter syndrome that I have experienced.