Q: I’m asking the question my son recently emailed to me. In four months, he’ll be home from his mission to Brazil. He studied Spanish before he left, so he’ll be coming home essentially fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. He spent his freshman year at Southern Utah University so he could play baseball. He studied math, preparatory to a career as an actuary. He is having doubts about that career path and recently wrote home:
What is the best degree for someone like me, who speaks Spanish and Portuguese, is good at math, but doesn’t want to be an actuary?
A: Your son’s mathematical capability is a great educational and career asset. Math is the foundation of majors such as economics (my returning missionary son’s major), accounting, business, physics, and computer science. It’s also valuable in many graduate programs, particularly the MBA, which opens the door to management positions in a wide array of enterprises. I’d suggest that your son keep the great value of mathematical skill in mind as he ponders a career dream and then a major; the chapters on those subjects in Major Decisions may be of help.
Language capability is a gift to be cherished and cultivated, much like baseball. However, language is also like baseball in that very few people make a living with it. When I was in graduate school, Japan was taking the business world by storm, and I used elective opportunities in my MBA and JD programs to complete the courses required for a minor in Japanese. In hindsight, I might have been better served by courses in business or law, or even in a field such as computer science. I found few opportunities to use Japanese in my profession, and it atrophied quickly. I might have done better to develop a habit of reading from my Japanese missionary scriptures and chosen courses that would have contributed more directly to my career. College and graduate school years offer once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to master the fundamentals of subjects that are difficult to grasp without the help of a professor and a formal course of study.
Majors and Careers for a Mathematician
Q: I’m asking the question my son recently emailed to me. In four months, he’ll be home from his mission to Brazil. He studied Spanish before he left, so he’ll be coming home essentially fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. He spent his freshman year at Southern Utah University so he could play baseball. He studied math, preparatory to a career as an actuary. He is having doubts about that career path and recently wrote home:
What is the best degree for someone like me, who speaks Spanish and Portuguese, is good at math, but doesn’t want to be an actuary?
A: Your son’s mathematical capability is a great educational and career asset. Math is the foundation of majors such as economics (my returning missionary son’s major), accounting, business, physics, and computer science. It’s also valuable in many graduate programs, particularly the MBA, which opens the door to management positions in a wide array of enterprises. I’d suggest that your son keep the great value of mathematical skill in mind as he ponders a career dream and then a major; the chapters on those subjects in Major Decisions may be of help.