Career Opportunities in Mathematics.

Dheeraj Kulkarni & Rohit D. Holkar,

IISER Bhopal.

March 6th, 2021.

Higher Education in Mathematics.

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The training process.

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• Bachelors Degree
• Regular route: Three-year B.Sc. Program (Offered by many recognized universities, also in distance education format)
• Variants: Three-year B.Sc.(Hons) Program (CMI), Three-year B.Math Program (ISI)
• Masters Degree
• Regular route: Two-year M.Sc. Program (Offered by many recognized universities, also in distance education format)
• Variant-1: Five-year Integrated M.Sc. Program (some IITs, IISERs, NISER, some Central Universities)
• Variant-2: Four-year B.S. Program followed by a year of training and research leading to an M.S. (IISc)
• Variant-3: Two-year M.Math Program (ISI)
• Higher Masters Degree
• M.Phil Program (Offered by many recognized universities)
• PhD Degree

Regular route: PhD Program (Offered by many recognized universities)

Variant: Integrated PhD Program after a B.Sc. (some IITs, IISc, CMI, TIFR, IMSc, HRI)

Financial assistance to pursue higher studies in Mathematics.

Fellowships, Scholarships, Stipend etc.

A detailed list is here (MHRD), here (YWM conference) and here

• NBHM - Nurture Program, UG Scholarships, Masters Scholarships, PhD Scholarships and Post-doctoral Fellowships
• Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) Scholarships
• Institute scholarships/stipend and tuition fee waiver
• Research Fellowships of CSIR and UGC
• DST Inspire Fellowship
• GATE Teaching Assistantship
• PMRF

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PhD in India

1. Locate an institute for your areas of interest, and possibly, your potential thesis supervisor.� Some institutes: IISERs, TIFR, IISc, IMSc, ISI, CMI, HRI, IITs.�Funding agencies in India: INSPIRE, The Prime Minister Scholarship, NBHM, CSIR-UGC NET, GATE.�
2. Application process:
1. Need a good ranking in CSIR-NET, NBHM, GATE or similar exams.�This ranking help getting scholarship and shortlisted for PhD interviews.
2. Apply for PhD interview. If get selected, follow the process the institute prescribes.�
3. Usually, the applications for the exams start in August. The exam happen during December-March depending on the organising institution.��Exams application charges vary from institute to institute. Interviews applications are not charged.

PhD in Europe

1. The positions are advertised on the Institute or Department or Research Group webpages.�
2. Select a topic(s) of you choice. Do a survey and enlist the institutes known the topics and the experts there you want to approach as advisers.�
3. The traditional way of application: Follow the instructions on ad page. Usually,
1. Write the potential advisors concisely with a CV, SoP, Research Interests and recommendations.
2. Follow the further instructions.�
4. Central administrations:
• Submit required information and documents to the email address or suggested admission portal.

• Some funding agencies: Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus, DFG, DAAD.�
• A concise guide for applications: https://borkarabhijeet05.blogspot.com/2013/03/applying-for-phd-in-europe.html�
• Applications to European universities, usually, do not require any application fees.�
• Learning the native language of the country you are planning to go would be practically helpful. Most often it is not necessary for applications, nor is it mandatory.

A good time to start preparing for applications, survey for institutions and experts, �is the beginning of fifth year.

Last semester is too late to apply for or nearly on the verge.

PhD in the US

1. Usually, PhD applications in the States require GRE, TOEFL ani Subject GRE if applying in science.�
2. The positions are advertised on the Institute or Department webpages.�
3. Select a topic(s) of you choice. Do a survey and enlist the institutes known the topics and the experts there you want to approach as advisers.�
4. Applications are done through a centralized process- by submitting required documents to an email address or application portal. �
5. Applications are usually charged. GRE and TOEFL charge separately for sending the score to Universities.

What to do after higher studies in mathematics?

• A career in Research and Teaching is a well-trodden path that is very rewarding!
• However, only a small fraction of undergraduates with mathematics as major can be accommodated into academics (Colleges, Universities and Institutes like TIFR, IISc, IITs, IISERs) as a tenured faculty.
• There is great a degree of reluctance among mathematicians to go into corporate world as it is a “non-mathematical” job.
• We do not fully realize the value of a degree in mathematics.

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Beyond Research and Teaching.

“We shall need … the creation of a new breed of mathematical professionals able to mediate between pure mathematics and applied science. The cross-fertilization of ideas is crucial for the health of the science and mathematics.” -- Misha Gromov, Possible Trends in Mathematics in Coming Decades, Notices of the AMS, 1998.

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“Come gather 'round people wherever you roam,

And admit that the waters around you have grown,

And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you Is worth savin'

Then you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'....” Bob Dylan.

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Career opportunity for Mathematicians.

• Finance and Economics
• Data Analytics
• Climatology
• Computer Animation and Digital Imaging�
• Bioinformatics
• Ecology, Epidemiology, and Environmental Issues�

How to apply for a job?

1. Through the placement cell at IISER Bhopal.�
2. Hunt companies of your interest and apply yourself.�

We advice to apply using 1, as well as, 2.�

You are the core part of our Institute.

The paths you pave now, will be followed by your juniors in coming times!

Your success makes the institute successful!

Financial Mathematics

• Application of mathematics in business and financial sector.
• Desirable knowledge area: Financial models, Stochastic Calculus, Probability.�� Scripts: Python, R, Matlab.
• Professions in demand: Data Analysis, Risk Analyst.
• Prominent employers in India: FuturesFirst.

European countries and companies (€45,000 onwards without taxes & insurance) :

Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, UK, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finnland

(Zurich Group Insurance, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Willis Tower Watson).

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Mathematics in Computer Science.

• Interface of the technology of computers with mathematics. Many common sub-fields between mathematics and computer science.
• Desirable knowledge area: Discrete Mathematics, Cryptography, Parallel Computing.
• Professions in demand: Cryptologist, Network Security Analyst.
• Professional society: Indian Association for Research in Computing Science (IARCS), Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), IEEE Computer Society (CS).
• Prominent employers in India: IBM, Microsoft Research India, Yahoo India.

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Operations Research

• Application of mathematics organizational operations and problems.
• Desirable knowledge area: Optimization, Data Analytics.
• Professions in demand: Data Scientist, Inventory Strategist.
• Professional society: The Operational Research Society, International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS)
• Prominent employers in India: Adobe, Morgan Stanley

Actuarial mathematics : A quick look.

• Application of probability and statistics to the insurance industry.
• Desirable knowledge area: Financial theories, Statistical analyses.
• Professions in demand: Actuary, Risk Analyst.
• Professional societies: Institute of Actuaries of India(IAI), International Actuarial Association, Society of Actuaries (SOA), Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS)
• Prominent recruiters in India: GE, United India Insurance Co. Ltd.

https://www.financewalk.com/actuary-career-path-salary-jobs-exams/

Applied Mathematics: A quick look

• Application of mathematics in sciences, engineering, business and industry.
• Desirable knowledge area: Mathematical modelling, HPC.
• Professions in demand: Forensic analyst, climate analyst.
• Professional societies: Indian Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ISIAM), Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM).
• Prominent employers in India: ISRO, DRDO, IBM, Microsoft Research labs, Geometric Softwares.

http://www.siam.org/careers/thinking.php

Biomathematics

• Application of mathematics in health and biological sciences.
• Desirable knowledge area: Bioinformatics.
• Professions in demand: Biostatistician.
• Professional societies: Biomathematical Society of India, International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB), Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB).
• Prominent employers in India: Cadila, D E Shaw Research.

National Network for Mathematical and Computational Biology (NNMCB)

http://www.iiserpune.ac.in/~mbio/?q=nnmcb

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Startup Companies: Taking a path less travelled by Mathematicians.

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Jim Simons : Founder of Renaissance Technologies, New York.

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Gunnar Carlsson : One of the Founders of Ayasdi Inc., USA.

Role Models from India : Oneirix Labs, Pune.

Udayan Kanade, Founder and CEO, Oneirix Labs.

Ruby Saptarshi

Siddharth Bhalerao

Chaitanya Guttikar

Organizations which look out for Mathematicians in India

• Citibank
• General Motors
• McKinsey
• Morgan Stanley
• Pfizer
• DRDO
• NAL
• Deutsche Bank

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• Ford
• GlaxoSmithKline
• Mentor Graphics
• Motorola
• SGI
• ISRO
• SETS

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Preparing for a career in industry

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• Acquire substantial background in mathematics, including statistics (because data science is the trending area).
• Mathematical maturity helps in (a) looking beyond the underlying problem, �(b) understanding the big picture, (c) transitioning between different problems.
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• Acquire some knowledge in computer science.
• particularly, achieve programming skills (Python, R, MATLAB).

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• Seek research or industrial internships (during summer vacations).
• Check out: MTTS, DE Shaw Research Summer Internships, Microsoft Research Lab Internships, IITB Research Internships, TIFR Visiting Student Research Programme, NNMCB Internships for Bachelors and Masters students, IITG Summer Internships, IISc Summer Fellowships, IMSc Mathematics Summer Research Programme, CMI Internships and Visiting Students, HRI Summer Programme in Mathematics, NPDE-TCA Summer Internship Programme

Recommendations: Preparing for a career in industry

• Develop good oral and written communication skills.
• Be ready to work in a team and be a team player.
• Network – Join a professional society. Attend conferences, symposia, summer or winter schools.
• Kaggle.com for working knowledge of programming. This may highlight your work to big companies.

Organizations for Mathematicians.

• International - International Mathematical Union (IMU), Foundations of Computational Mathematics (FoCM), Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM)�
• National – Indian Mathematical Society (IMS), Academy of Discrete Mathematics and Applications (ADMA), Forum for Interdisciplinary Mathematics (FIM), Indian Women and Mathematics (IWM)�
• Regional – Allahabad Mathematical Society, Calcutta Mathematical Society, Kerala ��Mathematical Association, Marathwada Mathematical Society, Orissa Mathematical Society, ��Rajasthan Ganita Parishad, Ramanujan Mathematical Society, Tripura Mathematical Society, ��Vijnana Parishad of India

Job listing on the web

• AMS Job Listing
• MathJobs
• PhDs.org
• Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM)
• Naukri.com

Credits for this Presentation.

I would like to wholeheartedly thank Dr. V. Sunitha, DA-IICT, Gandhinagar who gave the permission to use her presentation on “Career Opportunities in Mathematics” with a free hand.

We are thankful to Dr. Suliman Albandik working as a Data Scientist at the Zurich Group in Germany for his inputs in Financial Mathematics and programming skills.

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Let us be Wanderers above the sea of fog...

“Wanderer above the sea of fog”

by Caspar David Friedrich, 1819.

(Image Source: Wikipedia)

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