The Engine of The New New Zealand

Mathematics

Pretty much every element of our modern lives is underpinned by mathematical understanding and analysis.

From simple things like the laser used in your CD player and the properties of LCD displays and vehicle routing, to the high end image resonstruction technology used in sophisticated medical scanning equipment.

The best mathematicians can logically analyse a problem, extract the good ideas, leave the irrelevant stuff alone and work towards a solution. Studying mathematics will give you a wide variety of skills, many of which are transferable to many different careers.

Every day mathematics is becoming even more fundamental to today’s technology-driven world.

Find out what career you can have and how you can do it too.

History of mathematics

The history of mathematics is impossible to compress. But we’ll give it a go!

Numbers, and how they explain the world we live in, have been vital to our way of life, pretty much since humans have existed.

We started actually thinking about mathematics as a concept a few thousand years ago – the oldest mathematical texts we know of are from Babylon c 1900BC and Egypt around the same time.

In 600 AD the Pythagoreans were the ones that really kick-started the study of mathematics.

Based on the ancient Greek word ‘mathema’, the word mathematics means the ‘subject of instruction’. It was the Greeks who really got their ducks in a row. And counted them. They were the ones that insisted on deductive reasoning and mathematical rigour in proofs, and came up with some pivotal theories that still impact mathematics today.

The Hindu-Arabic numberal system, which is what we use today, was that region’s biggest contribution to mathematics, while one of Chinese mathematics enduring creations was a place value system.

After the Greeks’ heyday, mathematics had a bit of a rocky road. There were bursts of creativity and discovery, then there would be no progress for quite some time. In the Renaissance, people started to be interested in mathematical concepts and their relationship with the world around them again. This fuelled, and was fuelled by the huge burst of new scientific discoveries at this time. The development of accountancy was intrinsically linked to this development with teaching of these subjects was targeted at the children of merchants who needed such skills for trade and commerce.

From the 17th century onwards, the growth of mathematics was here to stay. Mathematics was used to describe the position of planets in the sky. Isaac Newton discovered the laws of physics while Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz developed calculus. Thousands of mathematicians worked to prove and disprove theories, and come up with their own. Too many to list here.

Fast forward to the 1950s. It was mathematicians that built the first computers in the basements of universities sixty years ago.

Today, mathematics is a huge web of theory and practicality, of proving and disproving of theories – of work that impacts on almost every aspect of our lives.

What career will I have?

Studying mathematics is about much more than numbers and equations.

More and more companies are employing mathematics graduates not just for their knowledge of maths, but the analytical, quantitative and project management skills they develop while studying.

Studying mathematics is about opening doors to opportunity and gaining highly desirable skills which are not too common in the job market.

Mathematics is about looking at the underlying structures of things, trying to understand how they work, what they do, what’s essential and how we can model them to gain understanding and improvement and how we can then use these processes in other fields.

There is a general drought of mathematicians around the world at the moment. Because of this you can command a great salary. It’s not just about pure science either – mathematicians are sought-after in all sorts of industries. International studies consistently show that mathematicians enjoy the greatest job satisfaction and opportunities.

Some examples of the jobs available include:

• Actuary (someone who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty)
• computer science and information systems
• cryptanalysis (kind of like code-breaking, it’s the study of methods for obtaining the meaning of encrypted information).
• engineering
• operations research analysis
• research
• statistics
• finance

Mathematicians work in industry for manufacturers, insurance companies, finance companies (Wall Street has been hiring highly skilled mathematicians for decades), banks, market research companies, and as public and private consultants.

If you are really keen on making your own discoveries, there is increasing demand for researchers in the area of mathematics too.

Examples of applications of mathematics which are currently being researched at Massey University include the modelling of geothermal processes, molecular dynamics, epidemiology, cell growth, celestial mechanics, neuroscience, phylogenetics and evolutionary trees, and the optimal decompositions of information systems. These show the generality, versatility, and variety of problems offered to mathematically-skilled scientists.

How can I do it too?

You’ll know if you have an interest and ability in numbers and quantitative thinking. If you have enjoyed mathematics at school, you should definitely think about continuing that interest at university.

To be accepted into studying towards a mathematics degree, you’ll need to have university entrance, or have gained at least 14 credits in Calculus at NCEA Level 3 or a pass in Bursary Mathematics with Calculus.

If you don’t have this background, you can take mathematics papers over the summer or in your first year to allow you to join a mathematics programme when they are complete.

Good supporting papers to take at university are physics, computer science, finance, and statistics. These are complementary subjects, which will help extend your skills.

When you do get a job, it’s really important that you’ve learnt how to communicate with others that may not come from a mathematical background. You’ll need to work on your communication skills, and on your computer skills – making sure you are up to speed with computational and simulation techniques.

Massey’s mathematical papers are taught by experts in their field. Our lecturers are world-leading, and will help you develop the skills you need to have an awesome career.

There are a few different choices of qualification, depending on the career you are aiming for:

BA (Mathematics) 

Or a

BSc (Mathematics)  opens the doors to careers in statistics, finance, geology, physics, accounting, the maritime industry and manufacturing.

If you’re really interested in the practical side of figures, you could look at a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons).

Find out more about potential careers using your maths skills, and more about studying maths at Massey.

Or you can get in touch with us if you have more questions.

Why Massey?

At Massey our mathematicians know their stuff. They’re well-published, in demand on the international conference circuit and many, like Gaven Martin, are world-renowned for their research and theoretical work.

That means we can share the latest, most relevant theories and practice, to help develop your interest and understanding and skills in mathematics. Whether your interest is in research in analysis and number theory, industrial and applied mathematics or mathematical biology – and whether you choose research or employment, we have the expertise to help you excel.

That’s because Massey’s Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences has one of the highest–ranked mathematics groups in New Zealand.

You will develop a wide variety of skills and techniques, especially in calculus and algebra. You will learn to formulate, solve, restate, resolve and interpret problems. To complement the analytical skills you are encouraged to gain knowledge of computational simulation techniques on computers.

You will graduate with a relevant qualification, that is highly-regarded by potential employers. Many of our qualifications have international accreditation, so your skills will be transferable overseas.