My two careers in math are in very different fields, one being something I almost went into and was very passionate about as an undergraduate students and the other is based off a hobby.
Geographic Information Systems Analyst
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a wonderful overlap of geography, math and just about anything else. In GIS math is used to help understand patterns of varying complexity in a spatial dimension on a map. It combines elements of geometry, statistics, geography and geography using specialized soft wear to aid the calculations. To do this required sophisticated understanding of both geography and statistics. I spent nearly three years working on one problem using GIS that ended up being one of my proudest achievements when I finally found the mathematical equation for the patterns I was noticing visually, I was able to prove that there was a mathematical connection there was a correlation between central points and outlying ones that decreased for every kilometer you got further from the central point.
Math skills needed for GIS
- Statistical reasoning
- Spatial thinker
- Flexible thinking
- Algebra
- Map algebra
- Logic
Job outlook and description https://gisgeography.com/gis-analyst-job-profile/
GIS professionals work in a variety of roles and capacities in municipal government, provincial and federal government, infrastructure, engineering, resource extraction and urban planning. It is a diverse role with a wide range of applications.
Baking and pastry chef
I said my two jobs were very different. This one brings more happiness to others, who doesn’t love a good cupcake, cookie or a French pastry? What about a warm crusty loaf of fresh sourdough?
Baking and being a pastry chef is applied math, measurements, fractions, temperature, weight, volume. Even baking at home requires a large amount of math and we don’t even think about doing them. Baking often requires scaling up or down to meet the quantity you need. For a student that chooses to go into baking and pastry they will also need accounting skills to manage their business, the ability to estimate the quantities of each item to make each day and the ability to predict what they will need to order and the quantities of ingredients to order.
