A Challenge of Numbers People in the Mathematical Sciences (1990) / Chapter Skim
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5 Mathematical Scientists in the Workplace
5 Mathematical Scientists in the Workplace
Pages 53-72
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From page 53... ...
Persons with degrees in mathematics work under various job titles; statistician, computer specialist, engineer, analyst, and actuary are common. And many such persons are secondary school teachers who are not usually classified as mathematical scientists.
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From page 54... ...
Obviously the conditions of supply and demand could resolve shortages, but planning and commitment will be necessary to maintain and enhance the quality of mathematical sciences education. There continue to be shortages of secondary school mathematics teachers, and many who teach have inadequate preparation.
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From page 55... ...
None of the estimates given in Table 5.1 appears to count elementary and secondary school mathematics teachers among the mathematical scientists. Estimates of their numbers vary, but the range is approximately 125,000 certified secondary school teachers plus 20,000 certified elementary and middle school mathematics teachers (NSB, 1985)
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From page 56... ...
Over the past ten years, the percentage of mathematics degree recipients employed in science and engineering fields has increased dramatically, from 46% to 74 37c for bachelor's degree holders and from 62% to 90~c for master's degree holders (Figure 5.1~; for all mathematical scientists, the percentage is 79%. The current employment pattern for mathematicians resembles that for computer scientists, physical scientists, and engineers, replacing the previous pattern, which resembled those in the life and social sciences, for which the percentages of bachelor's degree holders employed in science and engineering are somewhat lower (NSB, 19871.
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From page 57... ...
Information on what nondoctoral mathematical scientists do in the workplace is very limited. Broad descriptive categories, such as primary work activities, field of employment, and type of employer, are available for the nondoctoral decree holder, but these broad categories offer little insight into what specific opportunities are available to these mathematics graduates.
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From page 58... ...
54-57~. The general shortage of mathematical scientists together with the resulting demand across the work force adds to the prospects for too few secondary school mathematics teachers.
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From page 59... ...
A high school mathematics teacher is slightly more likely than not to have earned a degree beyond the bachelor's. Approximately one-quarter of high school mathematics teachers do not have a degree in a mathematics or mathematics education field, but only 15 % report teaching courses that they are not certified to teach This compares with 16% of science teachers with a degree in a field other than science or science education, and 20~o of science teachers who reported teaching courses that they are not certified to 59
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From page 60... ...
According to the Weiss survey, 36% of high school mathematics teachers have not completed three courses in calculus, 27% have not completed a course in computer science, and 46% have not completed two courses in methods of teaching. Perceptions of the quality of mathematics high school teachers, based on self-evaluation and ratings by principals, reveal that most mathematics teachers enjoy teaching (95%)
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From page 61... ...
Furthermore, increases in the demand for secondary school mathematics teachers are likely because of increased high school graduation requirements in mathematics and fewer collegiate remedial programs in mathematics. If current patterns persist, then the prospects for a sufficient number of qualified replacements are dim.
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From page 62... ...
SOURCE: Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS, 1987~. The mathematical sciences faculty is more than 80% male and more than 80% white, with half of the others being Asian-Americans.
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From page 63... ...
. _~ $60~000 $50,000 $40.000 S30~000 $20,000 $10,000 ~0 ~ 1970 ~ 1975 ~ 1980 E3 1985 1 Mathematical Scientists in the Workplace .
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From page 64... ...
The survey of two-year colleges asked for the percent of faculty ending in certain profes TABLE 5.4 Professional activities of two-year college mathematical sciences faculty . 1975 1980 1 As Attending at least one professional meeting per year Taking additional courses during year Attending mini-courses or short courses Giving talks at professional meetings Regular reading of articles in professional journals 47 Wnting of expository and/or popular articles Wnting research articles Writing textbooks 47 21 NA 9 NA 15 59 22 NA 15 57 6 NA 10 70 31 31 16 72 6 4 NOTE: Numbers indicate percentage of faculty surveyed indicating participation in activity.
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From page 65... ...
This consideration is gaining broader acceptance and practice among academic mathe matical scientists, and new patterns of professionalism are emerging. Faculty Members by Duties and Credentials In this section college and university mathematical sciences faculty are categorized by type of institution, academic credentials, full-time or part-time employment, subject Greats)
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From page 66... ...
Another basis for separating the college and university mathematical sciences faculty is by the fields in which they teach, notably mathematics, statistics, or computer science. (Although some faculty members work in other areas such as operations research, no finer classification will be made in this report.)
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From page 67... ...
members was classified as a very important problem by 35% of the responding university statistics departments, 42% of the university mathematics departments, 44% of the public four-year college mathematics departments, 42% of the private four-year college mathematics departments, and 61% of the two-year college mathematics departments. The development of computer science was a contributing factor to faculty hiring practices in mathematical sciences departments in the period from 1970 to 1985.
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From page 68... ...
. Faculty Salaries Generally, wages increase as the demand for workers increases and as the supply decreases, but this is not so in the college and university mathematical sciences faculty.
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From page 69... ...
For two-year college faculty, the estimate of retirements for the period 1986 to 1992, based on the ages of faculty in 1985, is much lower than the 217 retirements or deaths reported in the CBMS survey for the one year 1984-1985 (CBMS, 1987~. Early retirements from this faculty are apparently popular, as there was TABLE 5.7 Full-time mathematical sciences faculty by ethnic origin and sex, 1985 Asian Black Hispanic Native American Men Women All four-year colleges 7.1% 3.5% 3.4% 0.1% 85% 15% All two-year colic Yes 3~c 4% 4% 1 % 69% 31 To Statistics University mathematical sciences Public four-year mathematical sciences Private four-yea mathematical sciences 90% 89% 81% 85% 10% 11% 19% 15% SOURCE: Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS, 19871.
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From page 70... ...
For 1985 the major sources of 7,500 part-time two-year colleges mathematical sciences faculty were secondary school teachers and industry employees (Fi~ure 5.12~. Four-year College and University Doctorate Faculty The number of doctorate faculty in the mathematical sciences in four-year colleges and universities was approximately 16,000 in 1987 (CBMS, 19875.
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From page 71... ...
employment Miscellaneous/unlcnown Deaths and retirements Total 400 70 -50 50 100 -150 420 SOURCE: Consolidated from American Mathematical Society (AMS, 1976 to 19881. there are currently shortages of secondary school mathematics teachers, and these shortages are expected to worsen in the future.
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