Why arent mathematicians rich?

Question

Why is it that people that are math gurus cant convert there gifts into profits. Im sure some people will name a handfull of people who have, but 98,70956%:-) of math teachers, physicists and any other's that have these gifts barely make ends meat?

Answer 1

Some do. Applied mathematicians, statisticians, applied physicists, chemists, and so on find places where their skills are useful to industry, and find companies willing to pay them well to exercise those skills on their behalf. Some find the pursuit of knowledge itself, or sharing that knowledge with others, so rewarding and satisfying, that they prefer to spend their lives that way, though it may not give them as much money. For each individual, it's about figuring out what they are good at, what they want to spend their time doing, how they can contribute to society, and how they can get enough financial compensation to survive or to satisfy them. My happiness comes more from using my gifts for the benefit of others than from the money it brings. For what other conceivable reason would I be spending my time on Yahoo Answers??????

Answer 2

Well, there are plenty of people who have math gifts who make lots of money, you just haven't met them yet. People who are good at math are generally better computer programmers, for example.

So, obviously, if you are teaching high school math, you've made a choice to not make lots of money. You might have done that because you aren't good enough, or you might have done that because you wanted to add something to society. This is called a self-selecting sample.

But that doesn't mean that there aren't jobs for math people that make money. There are plenty.

A physicist can make a fair amount of money, too. (I'm sure Intel has a warehouse of them trying to find ways to make the chips even smaller, for example, without getting hit by quantum difficulties.)

Now, if we're taking Bill Gates style money, well, then not everybody can do that. That takes more than intellectual gifts, it requires a certain amount of drive, a certain amount of luck, a certain amount of people skills. And if you truly enjoy mathematics, it also means spending a lot of time *not* doing the thing you truly enjoy.

I have a friend with a PhD in mathematics who works for a hedge fund. He makes a great living finding algorithms for computer-trading.

Then their are some of the more traditional jobs for math majors. For example, accounting and actuarial sciences.

In the end, many mathematicians prefer not to chase after the almighty dollar. They know that money is just a number, and smart mathematicians know that no number defines a man.

Answer 3

There is the difference between mathematicians and businessmans.
Mathematics help but don't actually tell you "that is a good investiment and that is not".

There is a saying "If you can't act, teach" and most mathematicians become teachers, they just use other peoples inventions/theories to teach, the don't make their own.
The ones that make their own gain glory and respect and might money but these are very limited in number.

Answer 4

Because society doesn't value it. What other subject could a student go to their parents saying "I'm not good at this!" and have the parent reply "That's OK. Neither was I." That wouldn't happen with most anything else.

Some do turn it into profits. Just ask an Actuary. ;)

Answer 5

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