Not good at math.

VG_Addict · #1

OK, so I had a brain injury at birth that affected my ability to do math, so I struggle with it (I struggle with algebra). This is really bad because most of the highest paying (Or at least, good paying) jobs require math and science. I guess I'm doomed to be a failure.

I REALLY HATE POKEMON! · #2

I can't math at all, so at least you're not alone.

Also, you could still get by in life if you have any redeeming value and/or resources.

SephirothKirby · #3

I'd like to address seeking a career for pay instead of satisfaction, but I guess that is a different argument.

There are a lot of things that can be done without intensive mathematics. Like, a lot. Just focus on other skills.

Marilink · #4

VGA, there are so many things to do in life that do not require anything beyond the most basic of maths. What are these "highest paying jobs" you're referring to, and why do you view it as so impossible to find any other type of living?

Calamity Panfan · #5

If you only seek a job because it's high paying, not because it's something you excel at or enjoy doing, As to avoid "being a failure", you've already failed

#6

You do remember talking about this, at length, already? I realise now that you never actually wanted advice from anyone about your concerns. I apologise for wasting so much of your time with trying to offer you suggestions and point you toward proactive solutions; this is clearly not what you were hoping for. As I cannot pity you, I will stop giving you support and leave you to your venting in peace. Sorry, dude.

VG_Addict · #7

I'm sorry, SD. :(

#8

It's fine if you just want to vent. I don't need to fix everyone's problems. I can step back and leave you to it.

I REALLY HATE POKEMON! · #9

Hey man, I don't know what you're struggling with exactly, but I feel for you. Good luck.

Kil'jaeden · #10

VG_Addict wrote:OK, so I had a brain injury at birth that affected my ability to do math, so I struggle with it (I struggle with algebra). This is really bad because most of the highest paying (Or at least, good paying) jobs require math and science. I guess I'm doomed to be a failure.

Lately you are making even me look like a ray of positivity. You are intruding in my domain, I am the negative one. I have had that position for a long time, and you are not going to take it.

You are very wrong if you think that high paying jobs are there for science and math skills. Sure, they can get you higher paying jobs, but businessmen and financiers, stock market players, make a lot of money and I doubt they have much science or math involved. How many lawyers, pharmacists, and doctors need it. And yes, I know one of you at least will debate that, but the majority of doctors follow a routine. Marketing and HR departments don't really need those. There's plenty of things out there, if you are willing to lower your standards for more money.

I would also tell you to quit complaining about math. The surest way to get good at it is a lot of practice, not a math gene. People are not born with formulas engraved in their brains. I don't like it much and I would not call myself good at it. I have little patience for the abstractions involved. Just look for lots of e's, pi's, i's, and squiggly lines in some position and you have math.

smol Kat · #11

I don't geometry. At all. And I get by ok with basic to semi-basic math. You spend a lot of time focusing on your (IMAGINED) negatives. Focus on what you like about yourself, if that's even anything. And if it isn't, for the love of all that is good and wholesome, FIND SOMETHING.

The Missing Link · #12

Kil'jaeden wrote:How many lawyers, pharmacists, and doctors need it. And yes, I know one of you at least will debate that, but the majority of doctors follow a routine.

I hate to be a killjoy here, but I'm going to intercede right here and call you out. Maybe not lawyers; they don't need math so much, but pharmacists and doctors do need it... to graduate from university.

That said, it's hard for me to say that math is worthless. One of my majors in uni was mathematics, so... I kind of feel awkward not repeating the party line that OMG MATH IS EVERYWHERE! But it's not like complicated math is involved in every decent paying job out there. Yes, you need to be able to add, subtract, multiply, and do rudimentary division and very elementary algebra (in as much as the algebra they teach you in 5th grade thanks to story problems). But you rarely need real algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, advanced probability, advanced statistics, number theory, linear algebra, matrix computations, combinatorics, cryptography, need I go on(?) in day-to-day life in most jobs. Heck, even my job (which is rather math-centric) doesn't have half of those, and another half are yet again one of those special cases.

To semi-quote a line from a former college roommate:

"This isn't rocket science, you know! Okay, well, maybe it is rocket science. But it's really easy rocket science."

VG_Addict · #13

What would "real" algebra be?

Random User · #14

My mother is an accountant, a decent-paying, math-heavy job, and she hasn't a clue how to help me in Algebra, because she hasn't used any of what we are learning in school. My uncle even programs computers and junk, and he had a slightly difficult time teaching me Algebra because he uses calculators for all his math.

Kil'jaeden · #15

Doctors don't need math, students that want to be doctors need to pass some math classes. Once they are doctors, sometime in their 70's, they can safely forget all the math they learned after middle school.

#16

I can do math if pushed, but I feel like I'm beating my head against the wall to arrive at a conclusion that is ultimately pointless. Especially the higher level math. I have never once in my daily life needed algebra or anything more advanced than that. For that matter, I don't need most of what I learned in school. My self taught computer skills are far more valuable. I work with numbers all day long, but I never do that math either. That's what Excel is for.

The Missing Link · #17

VG_Addict wrote:What would "real" algebra be?

Pretty much everything above story-problem level formula manipulation.

You don't need to know that (x - y)(x + y) = x^2 - y^2 or be able to recite the quadratic formula on a regular basis. Or even what a parabola looks like.

But stuff like, "if I'm traveling 55 miles an hour, and I the place I want to go is 90 miles away," simple algebra will tell you how long it'll take to get there.

S1x · #18

Come on, even if you only do a $15 an hour job and work 40 hours, you'll still earn a respectable $2,000 a week. That's $500,000 a year. What's not to like about that?

Softguitar · #19

I have a job that doesn't require too much math now. I don't need algebra and I can use a calculator. Although I get around because I still live at home.

Getting a job is already a good thing in this economy... So consider yourself lucky if you get one. Don't expect too much.

smol Kat · #20

S1x wrote:Come on, even if you only do a $15 an hour job and work 40 hours, you'll still earn a respectable $2,000 a week. That's $500,000 a year. What's not to like about that?

Taxes.

"I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go~"

"Oh hey, I got $2 back!"
"Don't spend it all in one place :trollface:"
"HRNG"

I just mailed my taxes I'm in a very tax-y mindset okay