as a third year undergrad struggling hard studying Galois Theory and having to drop Group Theory this semester, this video is inspiring and helps me stay motivated
I’m a second year undergrad, and I’m struggling with complex analysis. I’m not sure I can see myself doing well in a class on Galois Theory or Group Theory next year. Mathematical maturity takes time, although I’m sure it grows faster when working as hard you are. Keep it up :)
To me it is silly we have forced our students to learn Galois Theory when it is a pretty much 'relatively' a new field . We should kick back and spend time understanding and doing easier courses. With time it will all become together with harder courses, later. It took a briliant mind of Galois to develop the theory, and we kick out students in the third year to do it? Not a way.
@@streampunksheep It is a special topics class shared between undergrads and grad students. I think the last time it was offered was in 2019 so it is my only chance to take it
The last part hits home where you said a Masters changes you. With a BS , I became a high-school math teacher. For 3 years I kinda half assed things just doing the bare minimum as a job. I felt sour knowing I wasn't being challenged in maths again and only teaching content in high-school. I decided to pursue a masters because I felt uneasy knowing that I dropped all of mathematics while becoming an instructor. This is when my work ethic changed completely . I went back to high-school teaching with a masters and actually cared about how I teach and effort I put in class. Now I teach in college and I love putting my all into my craft.
i feel like people go learn "high" math, and go back and teach it. it's a cycle. what is math actually useful for? what are the practical use cases of learning math in your experience? literally all lecturers I've seen, they got masters and got a job as a teacher. makes no sense
@anuj7008 hmm it's not a luxurious job as a community college instructor. Around 50k at North Carolina is a good estimate. The job is much more laid back than secondary school teaching though. University is really where the pay increase happens based on your title.
Suddenly when going into advanced courses, the perspective on what I love, changed. I too always was the straight A student at math, but now, can’t remember when I last time felt that I am good at the subject. I always thought I love math because of the subject, but it may have been because I was better than others and loved being good at something. Math does have a special place in my heart, the feeling of holding a math book is still special for me. But now, I am less sure than ever that I have the intelligence and dedication to complete a masters, talk about a Phd. This was and is still my dream. But I feel it is far for me like it is far for you to be an astronaut. I still try, but now less impatient, and less motivated, questioning if it is still the right thing for me. Maybe I am just lazy, and I don’t like to work hard. If so, it is something that I have to change in myself.
I really love your realistic presentation :))). The grunts.. the pain and despair followed by joy and exaltation.. followed by more pain and despair :))).
Some goals are so worthy, it's glorious even to fail. Hope you get your Doctorate soon. Keep sharing your journey here on youtube as it would be very motivating for me. I always wanted to challenge myself by doing mathematics but I always end up procrastinating and crushing my dreams
I am also doing PhD in Maths. Love to see fellow phd students doing something other than TA-ing, assignments or just solving problems from different textbooks. Love your channel. Keep it up mate. You are an inspiration to me, one day I will also have a youtube channel and document my journey. Cheers!
This is so pleasing to have these type of math videos, not teaching notions but showing the reality of it which makes it so more human and attractive. I hope you will soon publish a video titled " damn this problem is madly too hard " so that I can feel less alone when I don't find any solution too ! Great journey I hope you the best !
Speaking from my position as a student struggling with chemistry, even I was empowered by your story. I am in college doing Mathematics, physics, software systems development and chemistry. Chemistry being the odd one out which I did like initially and now it has become hell for I struggle at it, your story has given me the slight motivation to do my best regardless of my performance !
I was a straight A math student in high school and enjoyed it. Then I went on to university and did a maths bachelors, and I struggled with abstract math proofs. Sadly I didn't continue this. I'm currently following a bachelor's degree in Computer Science (close to applied mathematics) and I am absolutely loving it. It motivates me to work even harder whenever I enjoy it. Your channel has been a delight to follow. Never give up on your dreams :)
I'm 73 and have no use for calculus. My coffee will be cold long before I have taken the necessary measurements to compute how long it will take for it to get cold.
Great video. I haven't seen this honest take on studying maths probably ever. The stack exchange bit resonates and as you say it just becomes more and more rarified.
I started undergrad in August of 2019, and am currently half a semester into my Master's program, still hate school, and unfortunately am still doing it as a means to an end, but i love to hear about your story and how your passion developed, so thanks for these videos brother
Thank you for your video. I can empathize with your PhD struggles, although my field is linguistics. I am on the verge of retirement from a wonderful college teaching career, but have decided to study mathematics as a hobby. One way to keep the cerebral matter working. Math is the most elegant language!
Just impressive. Every second of the video inspires me a lot. In this 16-min video I can feel your struggle and your perseverance on your road to Maths PhD. It could be really valuable to a perplexed teen when dealing with problems like whether maths career suit me or not. I believe that it is not talent, but the unyielding mentality facing obstacles on the way of math matters. This video just gives me lots of courage on facing anything blocking my way towards maths. Thanks for everything you’ve shared, and I strongly believe that in the future, I would be a PhD in mathematics now, no matter how hard it could be. Really appreciate all things from this channel and from you, thanks a lot❤
I only recently discovered my love of math, I’ve been self studying. I’ve been working through “Basic Mathematics,” by Serge Lang. Videos like this, about the journey through Mathematics, were a big part of getting the ball rolling for me. Thanks for sharing, I mean it.
I'm also self studying. I feel like mathematics will make me a better software developer. It's a weird experience for me. My knowledge of notations and basic algebra skills are lacking but concepts like recursion, Graph Theory and doing weird stuff with functions come fairly natural. I do feel like it's easier to understand math after some life experience since knowing concrete applications that you can map the abstract concepts onto makes understanding way easier. Let's do our best!
That's one fascinating and inspiring thing about humans: we learn things and we push ourselves even when we don't have to. Not only that, but the fact that you're watching videos about PhD level math, makes me think you're trying to not only learn math, you're also aiming to give your best while learning it. Best wishes to you. 😊
17 year old here, hopefully next year will be starting Uni in the Fall as a full time student pursing a math major. Loved hearing your story and the experience/choices that brought you to do math, it seems very personal to you. I also want to do a PhD in math, just hoping my love for the subject and the moxie I have will be able to carry me through it, no Royal Road to mathematics. Best of luck to you finishing it off!
I’m a transfer student at my university and I still got two years left for my B.S in math. It’s nice to hear your story because it reminds me that finishing my degree isn’t going to happen overnight and hurdles should be expected.
this is all so candid and relatable. I'm having a lot of trouble in Undergrad and I'm majoring in CompSci. I'm taking all my gen ed classes but I'm motivated by my passion for learning things about everything and the fear of not finding a good job. I already encountered failure in my life and I've been humbled before in many different subjects. I think it was necessary for my mentality to experience that. thank you for showing your journey it's inspirational.
Listening to you talk about how your masters program changed you, hit me like a brick because I realized for the first time that is what my undergrad did to me. I too have a masters but I found it only mildly challenging compared to my undergrad. I graduated summa cum laude from my undergrad, and I recently watched the video of my graduation ceremony. They had all the summa cum laude grads stand up (out of about a 1000 from all the schools) and there were only a handful of us. I mostly toiled in isolation throughout my undergrad, completely unaware of just how rare what I was accomplishing was. Something inside me though was driving me toward excellence. I couldn't explain it then, and I can't now.
I can relate to you. I also decided to take PhD Math in 2021. I just finished all my academic requirements this term. I am taking the qualifying exams in three areas which include Algebra, Analysis and any third area. I chose Theory of Differential Equations as my 3rd area. I hope that I could also pass all areas so I can already proceed with my research by next academic year. Your videos are really helpful. Thanks.
Es muy bonito escuchar a otros colegas del área de STEM contar sus experiencias en su especialidad, saludos desde la Facultad de Ciencias de mi universidad 🤍
I'm so glad I found your channel. You don't see many people talk about starting from a community college. As a hopeful maths student currently studying in community college, this video inspires me. Thank you for sharing your story!
You're not alone!! Just got my associates and am now going after my actuarial math B.S. CC sucks ass but trust me you'll be glad you did it once you're at university
It's becoming an inevitable norm. As a transfer student in university from a community college, the quality of education was actually better in some classes. It all comes down to the instructor. The fact that people think university automatically means better quality of education is hilarious. Some of my worst experiences were with professors and some of my most memorable classes were with overworked part time community college instructors
Thanks for making this. I want to earn a PhD in math. Like you, I went to a community college, transferred, and was majoring in math. Then I switched to economics. I should have stuck with math. Anyway, I did some other things for a few years. Now, I’m taking a 400-level algebra course, and I’ll apply to grad schools later this year. After you mentioned it, I thought and realized that no one in my family has been a doctor of any kind. They have generally all done more practical things, but I’ve always been drawn to ideas and spending time alone thinking.
Another great video. Was hoping you’d speak more about the time in between dropping the three classes to where you then felt like you could take on those harder classes; what changed, what did you do different? Def agree that loving the subject is so important, I fell out of love with mine during grad school and I was a rough spot to be in!
Wow, sound similar to me transiting from high school math to uni maths. Wish someone told me once you go there your on ur own. but one the plus side i gain excellent work ethic and organizational skills from it.
Awesome video--interesting path you went through. Math is very tough requiring absolute discipline. People starting at community colleges save a ton of money; state owned are the most affordable. I went through it free due to winning scholarships including books. That is what motivated me to study hard and make As. My Bachelor's was also won by scholarships. I got my Master's which cost me about $23,000; no scholarships, but one can win tuition contests such as by writing papers. I graduated not owing a dime since I worked and went to school at the same time. I'm too old to pursue it any further due to the COST. A doctorate would cost me about $65,000 and at my age I do not want to put myself in debt.
Love your videos! You have a calming voice and you aren’t afraid to just show the math. This video in particular hits me hard because I have always been passionate about proof based math since I was a tween learning induction from some intro to complex analysis book I was never making it through at that age. But I never pursued math as a degree due to other life circumstances, although I did get a minor in math and have a masters in cell biology and biomedical engineering. In the last few months, I’ve really been thinking about trying my best to get into grad school for math. I’ve been making my way through Rudin, and hope to finish a course/book on complex analysis before studying for the math GRE. I just can’t imagine going the rest of my life without understanding all these bewildering results from higher math… If you have any advice for making me as appealing a candidate as possible, I would greatly appreciate it! Keep it up (and subscribed lol)
I failed algebra 1 twice in middle and high school, got an A in Pre Calc recently and am taking my first calculus class this coming tuesday, wish me luck! You gained a new subscriber.
I did my masters and it had a huge impact on me as well. Please make sure to pick up some additional skill like programming because I really have not found any positions that value pure math outside of education. I love education but it really treats its people poorly and after several years I had to leave teaching. I hope your journey is better.
I am 36 years old, have a law degree and have a decent job in my country. But I am not happy with my profession and I am kind of feel empty because I did not continue studying math when I graduated high school despite of my endless love to math. Now I am heavily thinking about changing my major and do some math degree or math related degree. My father was a professor at university and I was good at math, too, maybe because of genetics that I feel living life without math an empty life. When I was in my 20's I was always like I have to do this thing faster, not get behind anyone, but now my prospective about life has been changed, I do not consider that competition like world view the best approach to living. I would dedicate even my 20 years to math education. :)
I am going to start my phd in August and that is after 2 years gap (since my masters) because here in India its really competitive out here either you have to qualify one of the three entrance exams or to be at the top of ur masters even after that different institutes take their own entrance and interviews but i have always wanted to be a professor although i dont see the point of having to do research for teaching but having a phd is more or less mandatory for good teaching job but I have never wanted to go the corporate way finance and data science and that city life makes me wanna throw up, the life of professors at my uni was really a motivating factor for me
I'm a 31yo in applied math & marine science (hoping to be a prof soon). Your journey is inspiring! Guessing you already have, but I'd suggest getting into research early. Do prioritize quals! - but also have some thoughts on what topics you find fun. The complete loss of structure after grad courses can be a bit tricky for many; having the first steps planned helps.
I'm on my master's degree on psychology, I have no idea what brought me here but I enjoy watching videos about the struggles of a math grad student. Life is funny sometimes.
I was doing mostly mathematics. But I felt math itself wasnt getting me anywhere in life. I felt like a no life playing games all day where its useless like video game skills but im playing math allo day. So now I'm adding robotics to it lol.
I’m a math undergrad taking real analysis this semester as well. We are using introduction to analysis by Edward D. Gaughan. I’m struggling as well a lot. But what you said about the strength of your “spirit” or character resonated well with me. I appreciate your videos struggling grad student.
I have that book. We used it when I was in grad school. Don't be afraid to go to the library and check out other books to help you get a different perspective. Maybe look for _Introductory Analysis The Theory of Calculus_ by J.A. Fridy. There is a critical typo on page 11, but it is a good book.
You story sounds almost exactly like mine, except I finished with economics with minor in math… ive thougt about doing ms in math, but never seriously…. Idk maybe one day
Thanks for sharing! I always laugh when I hear the amazing dreams people had when they were younger because my dreams were to 1) become a Jedi, 2) be like Indiana Jones, and 3) be rich lol. Now, I’m a broke college student who’s only adventure is trudging through a swamp of PDEs.
Bro you and I have the same path! Lmao I started my undergrad at a CC from 2013-2015 and then transferred to a 4 year completed a BEng at 2018 went for a math master and completed that at 2021 and then applied and got into some Phd program in 2022.
I normally suck in math. If I can get through it, anybody can. College Algebra is required for all Bachelor's programs regardless of major. College Algebra is a big game changer since you start using substitutions, conic math such as circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, and parabola which bleeds into pre-calculus. Once a person survives college algebra it will open up a whole new awareness and may grow to like it to the point of changing majors to math. I agree you MUST WORK HARD grad degree level--it costs too much to fail a single class.
Find 3 quadratic polynomials in 3 variables [x,y,z] such that the the set of intersection of the polynomials has an infinite number of rational points.
I’m in my second year of undergrad right now and I truly have no clue if I want to get a masters. I’m so terrified of it, and it seems like you were too.
Thank you for sharing your story. Have you read _Living Proof_ ? I would love to have my Ph.D. in mathematics, that is one of my dreams. God has allowed me to achieve most of my dreams, but so far I haven't achieved the math Ph.D. ... yet. I don't know if it will ever happen, but I have a little hope yet. I was blessed with a master's degree. I can't afford to dedicate my time to a university to do the Ph.D. program.
My recommendation for students in maths is to surround yourself with maths (and maybe physics) students. I spent 6 years in university disheartened at my progress for not comparing myself properly to peers of my own field. It made me frustrated and angry looking at students in social sciences getting multiple degrees and taking twice as many subjects a semester in wordy subjects without any substance. I felt like I was falling behind because I had to struggle more than the rest. But in reality, I was just in a boat of similarly struggling unsociable maths majors. It took the life out of me until I broke the ice and realised this.
Well, here is my story: I am currently finishing my degree, I am in the last semester of Civil Engineering and throughout my degree I have really liked mathematics and I have done very well in the mathematics subjects that any engineer takes (differential calculus, integral calculus, differential equations, etc). Lately I have been very motivated to do a master's degree in applied mathematics or quantitative finance (It's funny because I'm about to be a Civil Engineer but I want really do different things with my life and I have a different prospect about what I would like to work in), I would like to be able to do it in mathematics but it scares me since I feel that I do not have the mathematical maturity and the foundations to do a master's degree in mathematics (because I come from an engineering degree), in fact, I am currently taking along two subjects from the master's degree in applied mathematics at my university: Advanced Calculus and Nonlinear Numerical Optimization (I'm not in the masters yet but I'm taking those courses as electives), in Advanced Calculus I think I'm doing very well, I was very afraid since it's a prove everything subject and we see topics like introduction to real analysis, basic topology, complex numbers, ... and I had never seen any subject of this type previously and full focused in writing proofs and that kind of stuff. My idea is to finish and get my Bachelor's degree and then do a master's degree in Applied Mathematics or Quant Finance, because I would like to be part of the front desk of a Hedge Fund or get a decent job related with math in Wall Street because I have becoming very passionate about trading in the recent years and I want to do it right, i.e., from a mathematical perspective and I know that these big companies and hedge funds like to hire people from master's degrees in mathematics or PhD's in math or physics. And I'm not wanting to do a masters because of that, I really want to do the master because I really like math and I enjoy it, as you said: "You choose the mathematics life because you just enjoy the subject; you have to enjoy the subject or else it's just going to eat you alive" and I have felt that while studying for the Advanced Calculus subject because I have spent a lot of hours trying to understand things and adapting to thinking on a different way that I was used to. I'm planning to start admission process in these universities: * Stony Brook University * Baruch College * New York University * Rutgers University Hopefully I get admitted to one of that and start my program in QF Finance/Applied Math. If anyone can give me some advice on which master/university is more appropriate for what I want to do with my life I will really appreciate that! Sorry for the very long comment but I just feel that there are others that could be in the same situation than me.
quant finance is a solid field. Would definetly pick it over applied math, might as well choose pure math at that point. One problem with quant finance is that you will kind of be a one trick pony. You will ONLY have quant fin tasks. While someone with a regular finance background can work on deals with clients which in my eyes seems more appealing. But if you LOVE math you will LOVE quant fin
@@vegardgeiner1045 Thank you for the advice, I really want to go into Quant Finance and get a job on the industry. I really like math and I think I can deal with that.
Currently an undergrad student who switched from cell biology + environmental science to just environmental science and mathematics. It was weird to watch this video, as I felt as though there were some parallels between us (wanting to prove to yourself you could do it, environmental science etc). In your opinion, is there any use a mathematics major would have for environmental science?
im currently doing an associate degree in computer engineering, do you think I can fit in mathematics bachelor degree? btw good and inspiring story, thank you so much for sharing. All the best for your Phd!
Thank you so much for sharing this information. I finished my Master's about 2 years ago, and have always thought about doing a PhD. How do you think Artificial Intelligence will impact mathematical research in the near future? Is it possible for an AI model to discover new abstract mathematical knowledge?
I mean technology is already helping people use machine learning models (as well as plenty of other models) to solve mathematical problems. There’s a whole field called computational mathematics that really drives in the point of using programming and algorithms to solve mathematical problems. That being said, the majority of mathematics requires abstract thinking that just isn’t possible by computers yet.
@@Milkman-007 Thank you so much for the reply. I have been thinking a lot lately about the role of the human mathematician in the near future. I will investigate this field.
As a guy who dropped BA in Economics after spending there two years, and now is probably going to enroll to an undergrad in mathematics, the last part about finance made me laugh too loud. Quants do get nice salary, but I guess passion for math is something more genuine
Hey there! I’m a senior in undergrad highly trained for proof-based math going into teaching (right now I’m planning to do a master’s program at the high school level). As someone who took the long road, where do you think I could make the most difference? I was worried going into teaching that I’d not be able to do very much with my education, but now I realize how much there is I could do. Where could I best serve? Do you think teaching math at a community college could be helpful? Thank you so much!
When I was a student at a community college, I was surprised by how good it was. Each state in the USA has its own community college system, so some states’ might not be good. My state had a good one. I took every math class, learned a lot, and really liked a few of my professors. We had some real math courses there, not just math for engineers. I had a good proofs course and two linear algebra courses. At the time, I thought the calculus courses were too easy, and they probably were, but I learned some important math from them anyway. Teaching math at a community college can be a good job. I think you must take time to research the community colleges in many states (and the different ones within a state), look at which math courses they offer, and know how serious they are about preparing students for transfer to good four-year schools.
I think understanding the basic undergrad math curriculum and a little beyond that (knowing manifolds, or representation theory, or algebraic geometry for instance) would be very helpful for community college teaching. There will be students who want a four year degree in math who fell through the cracks in high school, and having a roadmap for their upper level coursework and some ideas of what lies beyond is extremely important for inspiring promising students to keep going. I almost ended up in community college (only got into one 4 year school) and there would not have been the guidance I needed. I'm now doing a PhD, and having support for advanced coursework in undergrad was essential.
have you seen a pure maths phd? 😳 Most of the time there are like 7 people in the whole world who could even understand it without putting in dozens of hours of research. But obviously it kinda doesn't have anything to do with the degree directly and only really depends on the specific area of research/problem, but still... I wouldn't discount pure maths. Physics, Maths, CS and Engineering certainly all lie in the same bucket of potential horribleness at the phd level.
bro gimme an honest yes or no reply please. i have like 2.7 gpa atm in my 2nd year. and if i work hard af from now on in the next 2 years i can get it up to like 3.2 if i retake some dd/dc's in unrelated stuff. i even have an F (i didn't know it was important so instead of dropping/withdrawing i just F'd it(algebra). didnt even study at all lmao) now im getting an AA tho but still. can i ever get into a phd program with this shitty transcript or should i change my direction ASAP and find other stuff to do? don't wanna waste time and since i think im not gonna be able to do it i just dont feel like studying which further lowers my scores. so can i do it if i get like 3.2 at the end or is it just not enough? (im in a shitty university btw. best in my country but shitty internationally.)
I know a guy that never did homework in high school and failed to get into college. He buckled down in community college and was able to get into a good university and enter a PhD program. So it is possible but you will have to work hard and cut no corners. If you know someone in the PhD program that wants to work with you, then that is a huge plus. In short, yes you can turn it around but you may not get into the school you want. You just have to determine if it is worth it.
I’m a freshman and I’m thinking of doing more math because I like it. Edit: though I’m doing terribly, I still have an interest Edit: probably a minor in math
