Calculus Questions Mathematics

Does anyone on here have a major in mathematics?

I received my BS degree in mathematics just last year and I am currently a graduate student at a top 20 PhD program in mathematics. To keep some degree of anonymity, I will not say where I am currently or where I went to for undergrad. While I was in high school, however, there was no indication that I would even be headed in this direction.

I was a good student in high school, but not stellar. I always liked math and did excellently in math courses, but my intellectual pursuits were elsewhere. I loved the humanities and despised the sciences, so the bulk of my classes were in writing and the arts. The only math classes I took in high school were Algebra I and II, Geometry, and Elementary Functions, which is similar to Precalculus, but more intended for students who do not plan to take Calculus. It is sort of a terminal math class. (I have taken multiple statistics courses, but only as an undergrad.)

After I graduated from high school, I went to a small liberal arts school for a degree in English. I decided to enroll there because of the phenomenal English department, proximity to home, and the affordability of the tuition with financial aid in the form of a scholarship. I needed to take a math course as a part of the general education requirements, so I decided to take Calculus just for fun, but also immediately as a freshman, otherwise I likely would have forgotten all the math I previously learned. Having been marginally prepared, I found it extremely hard. Yet, I liked it, and decided to take more math courses. After a lot of soul searching, I switched my major in math.

I did not decide to pursue a doctorate until my third year. Since I came to math pretty late and wanted to go to grad school right after graduation, I hustled like never before, taking about a dozen math classes in less than a year, going to a summer program, and enrolling at a second university for more advanced course offerings. You see, the math department at my first college was small and modest. Fortunately, everything worked out. Was it hard? Not really, but it was a lot of work.

Ultimately, I would like to be a professional mathematician doing research and such, though I would be content with any career using math extensively. If math is what you want to major in during college, then go for it. Math is a wonderful major! Maybe just keep your options open. You never know. Other majors may grab your attention!

Math Lessons : Solving Calculus Word Problems