Preparing for a Career in Industry

Not all mathematics fits with all industrial jobs. People in industry often think there is no practical value to higher mathematics. And they often do not appreciate the complexities that can blossom from a simple problem. Being a proficient mathematician will not guarantee you a job in industry. So what can you do while at Rensselaer to make your life easier when you are ready to leave?

Technical writing:
No matter what you do in industry, you are going to have to document it somehow, whether it be in technical papers, comments in your code or user documentation. Thus, solid technical writing skills are useful. Rensselaer offers a few technical writing classes for those who want to hone these skills (and if you take a 6000-level class, it even fulfills the outside area class requirement!).

Trade journals:
Do you have any idea what a mathematician does in industry? Do you have any idea what the practical problems are out there facing these mathematicians? Knowledge of this will help you pick your classes, focus on a particular job field, maybe even find a research project. There is a variety of trade journals out there which will expose you not only to the problems in mathematics, but will help you to understand your field of choice as a whole. Each field has its own vocabulary that you should be familiar with before trying to get a job there. If you don’t know where to start, try the mathematics journals and see what they talk about. Ask your advisor what journals he/she recommends and ask your fellow grad students what they read. Don’t be afraid of non-math trade journals either. Some of them are quite easy to read since they are non-academic.

Conferences:
You may want to consider a non-mathematics conference. Or for real convenience and great exposure to industrial problems, consider the Workshop on Mathematical Problems in Industry (MPI). The Internet and department bulletin boards provide a wide variety of conference listings.

Computer skills:
The computer age is upon us in full force, and it is now pretty rare that mathematics is done solely by pen and paper. Can you program? Are you comfortable using both a PC and a Workstation? What programming languages are hot in the field you are interested in? What applications (i.e. software) are necessary tools of the trade? What skills are employers listing in your field? Do you have them?

Publishing papers:
Although this is not as critical as it is for Academia, having a few published papers to list on your resume will give the prospective employer something concrete to read when trying to assess your mathematical skills.

Presentation at a conference:
It is important for you to become comfortable presenting your work to others, fielding questions and handling spontaneous requests. In industry you will very likely be called upon to discuss the work you are doing (either with management, co-workers, or in a briefing to customers). Whether it is a talk given to your fellow grad students, or a presentation at a conference, the more you present your work, the more comfortable you will be with that process. You will get the obvious benefits of additional feedback on your work and perhaps insights you had not yet seen. You also have the option of requesting feedback from you advisor or someone you trust in the audience, not only on the content of your talk, but on your presentation style.

TA-ing:
Yes, even this will help your resume for industry. You can use your TA experience as a way to show an employer you have “people skills.” It shows you have the ability to break a difficult problem down to the point where it can be understood, and also that you know how to multi-task, that is, you were TA-ing and taking classes at the same time.

Collaborative research and other group work:
When looking for a job in industry, it is very important that you show that you can both work alone and in a group . Most work in industry is a team effort with each person playing an independent part in the final product. Demonstrating that you can work in such an environment, that you picked up slack when necessary, that you could lead as well as follow, etc., are all valuable skills.

Workshop on Mathematical Problems in Industry (MPI):
The MPI workshop is a week-long work event held annually. Representatives from industry bring problems of interest to their companies. The problems are presented on the first day. For the rest of the week, the academic and industrial participants discuss the problems in small, informal working groups. Summary reports on the week’s progress is made on the last day. The workshop is a rich environment for learning and students gain exposure to industrial relevant “real world” problems, mathematical modeling, methods of solution, etc. You may want to consider attending at least one workshop (not just to hear the problems on the first day but to spend time during the week when the problems get sorted out). It is a good learning experience even if you don’t feel that your background is strong enough to participate much. You will be exposed to actual problems from industry and how such problems are solved.

Colloquia:
If you are interested in working in industry you should consider attending colloquia in other departments (in addition to Math department colloquia). Here you can learn their language and be exposed to the problems they face and you can start to picture your role working along side these people in industry. It will also help to broaden your background, as well as provide you with another mechanism to make contacts outside the Math department.

Course work outside the department:
When you take classes outside the department, you have the opportunity to learn a subject where you can apply your mathematics. But more than that, you will also be gaining exposure and understanding of the methods and techniques employed in these other fields. You may find their approach to be very different from what you are accustomed to in your math classes. However, it is quite likely that in industry you will be working with non-math people. Knowing how these people think in approaching a problem should help you to be more successful when you work with them.