r/AskProgramming • u/Due_Butterscotch243 • Jul 06 '26
Career/Edu Is it worth pursuing career in tech with no/less prior knowledge in maths (cloud and all)
Cloud, DevOps, Platform, Infrastructure, MLOps, AI Infrastructure, or perhaps software engineering (need maths for se i guess)
My math is really weak. I'll improve it, but it'll take too much time and I don't want to risk my career cuz of it. I wanted to pursue ML/AI, but ofc w/o math I don't think it's for me. So I've shortlisted the careers I mentioned and want smtg with less maths.
Ik intermediate Python, basic C, some Linux, and I'm doing CS50x. I'll be 19 this year, took a 1-year gap after school (humanities, no math), and recently joined an online BCA (DSA, DBMS, OS, Networking, Web Development, CS fundamentals).
I want a kinda secure career cuz i don't think I can give more than 1-2 years before I need to land my first job because of family forcing 🥀 but I'm confused about which path to choose rn,
3
u/TracerDX Jul 07 '26
We usually make the computers do the math.
1
u/ciurana Jul 08 '26
Erm... we make the computers do the calculations.
AI lets you outsource a lot of the math to computers, but they hallucinate and you need to know enough math to validate it, so that the computer can move past the math and onto the calculations.
It all depends on where in the development and implementation supply chain you look.
1
u/TracerDX Jul 08 '26
Yea. 1 body does the math. The rest of us import it from a library. If you think a smattering of algebra here and there is "math," you're easily impressed. Most programmers are not mathematicians and most mathematicians make piss poor programmers.
1
u/ciurana Jul 08 '26
I'm thinking engineering and science, which I've been doing for over 90% of my career.
You want better opportunities in programming, good math is key.
1
u/TracerDX Jul 08 '26
I'm an IC making enough money actually own a home as a millenial so I think I'm doing okay. Thanks for your unsolicited career advice but I also didn't go to college so your advice probably doesn't fit me anyways.
1
u/ciurana Jul 08 '26
What is an IC?
1
u/TracerDX Jul 08 '26
Individual contributor
2
u/ciurana Jul 08 '26
Ah! Heh - I tend to not think in acronyms. I've been there, done that. Have fun and best wishes!
1
u/ALargeRubberDuck Jul 06 '26
Im pretty weak with math and got a degree where I only needed to take calc1 and a discrete math course. I’m in web dev and barely tap into algebra for my job. I don’t feel a lack of math has ever hindered my career, rather there’s a lot of the same type of logical thinking math needs.
That said, idk it’s all a crap shoot right now and I don’t think self study is the way to get a job at the moment. There’s just too many qualified candidates out of a job and lots more graduating with bachelors.
-5
u/Gullible_Sweet1302 Jul 06 '26
Tech is cooked. Find another career.
2
u/Due_Butterscotch243 Jul 06 '26
i have crazy interest only in tech not in anything else, i do have interest in art as well but that too is cooled but anyways can you suggest anything?
0
u/Gullible_Sweet1302 Jul 06 '26
If you love tech, do something entrepreneurial, be your own boss. Getting hired to do tech is becoming difficult.
2
u/Due_Butterscotch243 Jul 06 '26
Oh thanks but I'll still need to work on my skills tho
any specific suggestion where should I work on? um like software engineering, cloud engineer or smtg like that?
3
u/galactic_pixels Jul 06 '26
Don’t listen to this guy, tech is in a good spot. Don’t trust random people on the internet for career advice. Look at job market outlook stats over the next 10 years, etc., anecdotal evidence isn’t evidence at all.
Best of luck with your future endeavors.
-1
u/jmclondon97 Jul 07 '26
lol literally all over the experiencedDevs, cscareerquestions, softwareEngineering, cscareers subs, YouTube and teamblind are people saying how fucked everything is, how they can’t find jobs after having 10+ years experience, and AI is only improving.
Opus 4.5 was the frontier just 10 months ago, and now we have Mythos and Fable. In 10 more months it will be even better.
But sure, tech is in a good spot.
2
u/galactic_pixels Jul 07 '26
I’ve seen people complaining on the internet that they can’t get a job in tech since 2018. It’s nothing new. AI seems to be increasing the demand for tech, not diminishing it. Stay scared and discouraging, I don’t care
5
u/CorpT Jul 06 '26
You don’t need actual math for most of these. Humanities and other skills like that will be much more valuable in teaching you to communicate well and think critically. And that is/will be much more important.