Maths undergrad TCD

Ima_mokster

Filling my CAO in very soon and need a bit of help with it!! Thinking of doing Maths in trinity and would like some advice from people who did or are familiar with the course! What type of jobs could i get with just the undergraduate degree and no masters if i really excelled at it? Is it rrally difficult in comparison to LC maths, obviously it will be tougher but how much? Is it a lot of theorems and deriving etc. or more probability statistics calculus etc.?! Would it be smart to couple the maths with another subject eg. economics or would that just take away from the maths part or be a smart choice and more managable??
Id love a job in a big company using maths somehow or finance related tasks..

I was also looking into computer science but im afraid i won't be good at it as i know i have a great aptitude for maths but i have no background in CS.. It seems like a good area atm but im afraid things will cool down and it wont be as lush whereas i get the impression that maths graduates are highly demanded and always needed?? also us CS in tcd good, or would i be better going elsewhere? I really lpve trinity and its very easy for me to get to!

Any input or comment is gratefully welcome!!! Thanks guys!

Raeral

I'm currently studying maths in Trinity so I should be able to answer all your questions. Anything else just let me know

Difficulty:
People say you need to be naturally gifted at maths to do well, but for the most part thats bull****. The two most important things you need, as with most courses, are
1) An interest in the subject (so you'll enjoy it and do the work)
2) Diligence (basically just do the homeworks every week)
If you have both of those you should get on fine. It is difficult enough to understand, but if you do all the assignments, it gets easier and easier.

Also, the general rule is:
Last year's maths is easy,
This year's maths is hard,
Next year's maths is impossibe.


Structure:
Have a look here for an overview of the course, a list of all the modules, and timetables.

For the first two years you cover all the basics, so you do a bit of everything: probability/statistics, some programming, mechanics (applied maths), analysis (calculus basically), algebra (different to leaving cert algebra), and topology. Those last two especially, and also analysis to a certain extent, are where you theorems and proofs and all that appear.

Then in the last two years, you get to pick you own modules from a list, so depending on interests/career prospects you could do nearly all statistics, or nearly all pure maths or whatever.

TSM (Two-Subject) and TP (Theoretical Physics):
Doing maths as a TSM, or if you do TP, you do about half as many maths modules.

If its TSM, you do modules in all the areas I mentioned above, but you only really cover the basics in all of them. You get to choose your modules in the last two years, and you have the option in 4th year of majoring solely in mathematics (although bare in mind, if you do this you will still not have covered as much stuff as someone who was in maths from the start). If you choose maths and economics, you get to do slightly more maths, plus economics itself has maths in it. About half of all maths TSM are doing maths and economics.

If you do theoretical physics, you focus only on mechanics and analysis. Also you dont really get any choice in your last two years. You also have to do a lot of labs, with extremely tedious, and long, lab reports.

Switching course:
It is relatively easy to switch between maths and TP. People do it all the time, generally from TP to maths. You can even switch at the end of first year, and go straight into second year. Bear in mind, you might have to reach a certain grade. Its also possible to switch into TSM, although the only subject people seem to switch into is maths and economics. Again, you can even do this at the end of first year, you just have to sit an economics exam, which I've heard is relatively easy. Also, your points probably wont come into it all, especially if you switch at the end of the year, after your exams.

Job Prospects:
The job prospects are quite varied. The usual ones would be finance/banking, actuarial/insurance, accounting, programming, bookies (paddy power and the like), the ESA, meteorology, teaching (2nd or 3rd level). Anything that in the slightest uses maths, you can probably apply for, and wont require a masters too get into (although some such as actuarial work, require additional training/exams). Coupling maths with another subject isn't exactly a 'smart choice' in terms of job prospects. I know I'm just sort of asserting this :pac: but I'd say its just as easy to get into a finance job with a maths degree, as it is with a maths and economics degree. The majority of these jobs require additional on the job training anyway. If you enjoy economics, do it as well but dont do it just because you feel you need it to go into finance.

Computer Science:
While programming does require some understanding of maths, the level is vastly, vastly reduced. The majority of programming tasks are logic related, rather than maths related, and while I'm sure you could find a career writing some sort of mathematical programs, it is much easier to do that having done your degree in maths and learned programming afterwards. Bear in mind, you do get to do some programming already in maths, and there are also quite a large number of resources online to help you learn to code in your spare time. Also computer science conversions masters exist, while the same is not really true for maths. If you do want to do it, the majority of people who do the course have no previous experience anyway, so dont let that stop you. I have a few friends doing the course, all of them seem to enjoy it, but I dont really know how it rates against other colleges.

Maybe_Memories

Just to correct one thing you said in regards to switching. You can switch from TP to maths but not from maths to TP.