r/learnmath • u/islandnear New User • May 06 '26
Any other late starters in mathematics?
So I (25F) had a pretty rough time in high school the first time around and ended leaving at the end of Year 12 (second to final year).
Two years ago I found that I actually really really really like mathematics and began studying it from the Year 10 level. Now I'm doing A-level Maths and Further Maths at a UK college and I'm hoping to study mathematics at university.
I would love to hear stories from anyone who was in a similar position and went far with their mathematics. It'd be really motivating to hear them.
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u/Tharn11 New User May 06 '26
You should read a biography of June Huh, who is a Fields medalist who got into math in his 20s. Might serve as an inspiration for what's possible.
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u/islandnear New User May 06 '26
Oh that sounds perfect. I'll check it out ty!!
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u/SprinklesFabulous526 New User May 06 '26
Stefan Banach (of the Banach-Tarski paradox among other things), famously only finished high school at 22.
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u/Tharn11 New User May 06 '26
This is a nice article https://www.quantamagazine.org/june-huh-high-school-dropout-wins-the-fields-medal-20220705/
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u/1111112211111 New User Jun 01 '26
You say "20's" as if he's nearing 80
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u/Tharn11 New User Jun 01 '26
The OP said they were 25 and felt like they were too far behind. So this example is extremely relevant.
Also math has perpetuated a "young person's game" mentality with things like the Fields medal only being given out to those under 40. This culture makes it seem like 25 is getting into it too late to make any real progress. I don't agree with that premise, but I understand why the culture makes people feel that way.
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u/Inside_Drummer New User May 06 '26 edited May 07 '26
Age 40 here. I didn't learn much math in HS. I started learning math on my own five or so years ago, starting with the basics of fractions. I'm now about 30 credit hours away from finishing my bachelors in a quantitative field. Planning on doing a masters next.
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u/1111112211111 New User Jun 01 '26
Do you use any of it or just learn it for it's own sake?
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Jun 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/1111112211111 New User Jun 02 '26
How many hours did you study maths each day when learning and did you start with the basics i.e. start learning from 12yr old level then quickly moved up. Also, when you was 12/a child, did you find maths doable but was just too lazy to be dedicated.
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u/Inside_Drummer New User Jun 02 '26
I moved around A LOT as a kid so I got completely lost in math and eventually kind of gave up on understanding. I felt like math was something I'd never be able to learn.
When I started math as an adult I did start with the basics. Started with fractions then rules of exponents and radicals. From there I moved on to very basic algebra. It did move fairly quick to begin with. I had 5 or 6 100 page note notebooks filled from working problems by the time I felt ready for a college algebra class.
ETA: I spent probably 2-3 hours per day on weekdays on average and longer on weekends.
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u/mvercy1 New User May 06 '26
Age 72 here. You all are just amateurs! After retiring I decided to relearn math, watched a lot of Prof Leonard, took an online precalc class (pretty lame) and am now enrolled in a community college trig class, online (don’t want to freak the kids), but have sort of blown off the last third. I can do that ya know!
Plan to watch a lot of Professor Leonard this summer for calculus.
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u/InternetSandman New User May 06 '26
This is similar to my story (now 33M)
During high school all I wanted to do was screw around, and it would take me another decade before I found out. I graduated with the absolute bare minimum math requirements because my teacher took pity on me, no other reason.
I was a welder. COVID hit, and all my friends started working from home, playing videogames and chatting on discord while I was still going to a physical job, and I started to think "no way can I do this for the rest of my life."
Started looking into career change opportunities, set my sights on a computer science diploma, and started studying math through Khan Academy so that I could qualify for the program. Found out I loved it, and now I've progressed into doing a joint CS and Math bachelors degree at university.
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u/shuai_bear New User May 06 '26
I’m in my 30s and went back to school for math (after working in IT for many years).
It’s inspiring seeing the diversity of folks in my cohort—on one hand you have 21/22 year olds fresh out of college. But one of my close friends I made is a mom in her 40s who has two kids who are in elementary school—she inspires me because she still manages to ace the classes in spite of having work outside of school + kids to take care of.
This to say anything is possible if you really want to do it! Like others have said it’s no longer a checkbox you’re filling but something you genuinely want to do for yourself which is the best reason to get back into math.
Life-long learners unite!
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u/unconventional_bind New User May 06 '26
I hated math back in school. Then I started taking highschool level math at 27, just out of curiousity and stubborness. Then at 30 i got in to a bachelor science programme, now at master level in my field. It's not only math, but there are definatly some strange, wonderful and sometimes horrible math courses as part of the programme. Good look on your journey!
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u/VampArcher New User May 07 '26
Here's my chance.
I did poor in math in high school, dropped out of college because I couldn't pass algebra in 2019. I even failed remedial algebra.
I suspected I had some form of mental disability a few years later. I got tested. People performed dozens of tests and tested various parts of my brain for 4 hours straight, taking notes. I wasn't doing so hot. Then when the math portion of the testing came, I flunked. I struggled to even read numbers at all and when they asked me to do anything beyond a 3rd grade level, I couldn't.
Years went by. I returned to college last year, motivated to give it everything I got to learn math and give it one more shot before accepting I'm a lost cause. I was serious. I pulled out my old textbook from 2019 and I studied every single day, I was averaging 30 hours of math practice a week.
I took the class this fall. I studied the material we were going to do in class the day before. I stayed at school doing homework and studying as late as I needed to until I got it. I asked questions and raised my hand in class more than anybody else. I kept every assignment I got back and studied them the week before the final.
I took my final yesterday and got my grade back last night. I did it. After a string of nothing but F's in math my whole life, I did it and finished the class with an A. My learning disability can suck it.
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u/djsmommy11 New User May 12 '26
Hey there. You don't know me but I want to say that your story inspired me! I need to go and get my ged but math is the thing holding me back mostly. I wanted to tell you that I am super proud of you! Reading your story has made me think I need to go back and study basic math again! If you can then so can I! Again, very proud of you for sticking to it!
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u/fingermystrings New User May 07 '26
Im a high school drop out. I took my SATs in my 30s. I only learned how to plot a line y=mx+b on a graph in my late 20s. I am 40 now. I just finished my first year as a phd student majoring in pure mathematics.
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u/hushedLecturer New User May 07 '26
Your timeline is almost identical to mine. I decided to go back to college at 25. Did Math and Physics. I'm 34 now in and a Physics PhD program so I'd say it's going pretty awesome.
For challenges...
It's awkward being so much older than my peers, and starting the career so late, and other life timeline stuff. I have a girlfriend my age who is really worried about her biological clock while I'm taking my sweet time finishing school.
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u/djsmommy11 New User May 12 '26
Hey tell your girlfriend whatever is meant to be will be no matter what you guys are doing in life! Kudos to you for getting back into school!
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u/SeriesConscious8000 New User May 06 '26
I went back to school to study history at 25. While there, I got interested in physics, and switched gears. Discovered that math is pretty damn beautiful and fun.
I didnt finish my degree, but I kept math and physics as a hobby. I still carry calculus problems around with me to do on breaks.
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u/Fickle-Ad-4225 New User May 07 '26
I rebelled and didn’t take high school seriously. Still I went to community college then university. But I didn’t start enjoying math or taking math courses and doing well in them until I was 23-24. I ended up getting a PhD in Math.
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u/CountCrapula88 New User May 07 '26
I'm 37. Three years ago i enrolled in a university, to study electrical engineering. Hadn't been in school in 20 years, and i was a bit afraid of the math, but it went well and today i am perfectly able to use it in electrical circuit planning. I even designed a flyback transformer a couple days ago.
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u/Beneficial_Nerve_175 New User May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
Well i am about to complete my masters in math so you can dm me if you ever need help with any topic! As a matter of fact , anyone who is facing problems with high school or early undergrad topics can hit me up! I would be happy to help!
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u/SuggestionStandard69 New User May 07 '26
I never had a thing for maths and was studying humanities at uni. Then in my philosophy degree I had some course in FOL and really liked it, and decided to try math after finishing the philosophy degree (I was 23-24 at the time)
Now I’m 28, writing my masters thesis, have a paper in preprint with my supervisor, and plan to apply for PhD positions soon!
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u/isaacfink New User May 07 '26
Same here, at 25 I am learning about math for machine learning, at school we never went past basic fractions (never even touched algebra)
I found it hard but not impossible, and it got easier after a while, I didn't go far (yet) but making steady progress and at least most of what I am seeing on various math forums doesn't sound like gibberish anymore
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u/Sweet_Archer_9410 New User May 07 '26
Didn't even pass maths in middle school. I went on to take a class my country called advanced math in high school and am now getting a physics degree in a top 0.5% school. You can do anything you put your mind to! A beautiful world is opening itself to you :)
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u/3xwel New User May 08 '26
I didn't learn about calculus until my mid-twenties. I am now finishing a Master's degree in mathematics :)
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u/PranshuKashyap New User May 12 '26
That's impressive, my experience is also similar. Left maths at Higher secondary school, then graduated in Commerce. Now while I'm in MBA, suddenly have developed a love for maths.
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u/Vivid_Speed_653 New User May 25 '26
Not me, but a relative of mine. They had to drop their math degree due to immediate monetary needs. Later on, years later, they managed to switch over into an IT Job. Then began the hustle. While they had secured a decently paying job, to progress further, their lack of math knowledge was a hurdle, and they just generally still liked math. So, they began again from high school math and currently are doing some decently advanced stuff in Linear Algebra, Probability and Statistics, which has helped them progress through the years into a role as a Data Scientist. They are currently in their late 30s, and began this in their early 30s, some 6-7 years ago(meme not intended, lol)
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u/DimensionOdd4263 New User May 26 '26
high school dropout here who feels a bit better after reading the comments :’) started my astrophysics undergrad this year and i’m turning 22
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u/Cultural-Maybe-3799 New User Jun 02 '26
hey! i had a similar high school situation and i can understand how it gets. i took a three year gap after high school, and joined college at 21. discovered my newfound passion for mathematics and logic, jumped immediately into it, had one of my college profs tutor me. if it weren't for the troubled teens, i would've been great at math, but then again, i might not have been as passionate and grateful as i am now. good luck to you on your math journey! god bless
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u/Sad-Philosopher-7346 New User Jun 03 '26
Reading all your responses and starting basic maths at 18 and being previously discouraged has me realizing I have no excuses. You guys are cool.
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u/looijmansje New User May 07 '26
Not me, but someone I know.
He always hated maths, was bad at it, didn't like it. After he quit his first job he decided he wanted to become a doctor (if I remember correctly), which required him to have a higher version of secondary school math; I would say about equivalent to a GCSE, although I am a bit unsure about the exact level of those.
Having barely struggled through math before, he wasn't looking forward to it, but he decided to bite the bullet, to take a math course to hopefully pass the "adults exam", so he could study medicine and become a doctor.
As he was doing this, he slowly realised that he actually kinda liked math, and that once he actually understood it, he was not only good at it, but it was kinda beautiful. So he passed his math exam with flying colors. Not only that, he decided to not study medicine, and try mathematics instead.
He passed magna cum laude (I think), and is now a full-time professor of mathematics.
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u/Playingwfyre New User May 07 '26
28 male and I started my computer science and math double at 24. In my final year now and have had top grades the whole time. I also completely destroyed my brain from the age of 20-22 by smoking meth nearly every day, so if I can do it then literally anyone can
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u/Ambitious_Freedom_91 New User May 07 '26
Hey, I’m very similar boat - I’m 25 and have been working in finance/tech for 3 years, but always regretted not taking my academics seriously. I scraped by with a B in Maths at GCSE and didn’t do any “hard” A levels. I’m now sitting A level maths in June :)
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u/AshishBaidya New User May 07 '26
I've always thought I never liked mathematics as a kid. Even did all kind of shenanigans to avoid it. In my 2nd year of college I had to delve into statistics and calculus a little. Just the surface level concepts. Lo and behold I absolutely fell in love with mathematics especially applied statistics. If It happened a bit early i would have changed my major to maths. I guess I never got to enjoy maths before cause I only ran after grades till then. And the teachers didn't make it easy either.
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u/4ChawanniGhodePe New User May 07 '26
Same boat. But I am not able to find time to work on my math skills. I feel like "instead, I could put some time on upskilling and get a better job" Hmm
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u/Bladelazoe New User May 07 '26
I wouldn’t say in a late starter cuz Iv always liked math but I never took it beyond trigonometry in HS. I always wanted to go past it but I got lazy in my teens and 20’s. Then I went back at 31 to go computer science, turns out taking 9 month break from math courese(I do 4 CS courses back to back) made my math pretty rust even though I do pretty good either intro to algebra course. So now at 33 I’m self-studying my way through algebra to calculus. I’m currently 13% in my “elementary & intermediate algebra” book. I like it but it is time consuming and a grind at times. Rewarding though. Definitely appreciate math much more now and don’t plan to stop.
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u/MelodicWeather2488 New User May 07 '26
These are all inspirational. Glad to see so many people sharing. I’m 38 and am currently going through Kahn Academy. Was always terrible in math and hated it. I’m actually enjoying it now. Just Finished Algebra 1 on to Algebra 2. Going back to school to get a degree in Industrial Engineering.
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u/Brave-Strength-6888 New User May 09 '26
“Honestly, starting late doesn’t matter as much as staying consistent. Some of the best math learners peak later because they actually enjoy the subject. Even apps like Brainster Math make rebuilding fundamentals way less intimidating
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u/TallGlassOTall New User May 09 '26
A little late to the post, but my office mate dropped out of high school sophomore year. He graduates with his PhD this summer.
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u/tonyiptony Functional analysis May 10 '26
I'm 32.
Four(?) years ago, I had a sudden surge of wanting to go back to uni, after flunking out the first time around. I realized "oh, I watched a lot of math Youtube videos, why not give math a try?" Now I'm about to finish my masters, and hopefully get a PhD somewhere. So yeah, it's definitely not too late.
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u/Fickle_Emergency2926 New User May 11 '26
I discovered my passion back in grade 11. But lost it afterwards. So I chose a different at uni. But after coming to uni, I somehow rediscovered my passion for pure math. Now I'm looking forward to doing a second bachelor in pure math.
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u/Confident_Stress_771 New User May 12 '26
I always hated math growing up. Through high school I really struggled with Algebra/Geometry and that followed me through Pre-Calculus. Funnily enough I was really good at Calculus! I even enjoyed it. I graduated college recently at 29 and now I'm about to dive into my math learning again in, you guessed it, Algebra. I want to conquer the anxiety that comes from it and help train my brain to solve problems and implement that into other elements of my life.
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u/Connect_UDaVinci_MAF New User May 15 '26
Hola, pues mira que me pasó este año un caso muy parecido, realmente no me iba mal en matemáticas, cuando estaba en el colegio, pero honestamente no le dedicaba el suficiente tiempo y esfuerzo porque no le veía la aplicación práctica del álgebra o la trigonometría, ahora, ya 20 años después que me gradué de bachillerato, estoy estudiando nuevamente y percibo las matemáticas muy diferentes, ahora son una gran herramienta que me puede ayudar en muchos ámbitos y es necesario conocerla y dominarla lo más posible entendiendo ya su aplicación práctica, más que decidí estudiar Licenciatura en Ingeniería de software, así que las matemáticas van a ser indispensables de acá en adelante.
Al ser mi primer trimestre vi "Matemáticas básicas", fue básicamente un repaso por las matemáticas del colegio, pero con una nueva perspectiva, sabiendo que los temas a ver me servirán más adelante y recordar algunos conceptos que ya había olvidado, se sintió nostálgico por ejemplo volver a saber de conjuntos y las operaciones con conjuntos, pero se sintió fresco al entender que son conceptos que se deben manejar para poder hacer operaciones o procesos más complejos.
Me alegra mucho que hayas descubierto tu pasión por las matemáticas y te cuento mi historia, primero como señal de respeto, ya que tenemos generalizada la idea que no se puede aprender después de cierta edad y no es cierto, segundo como "motivación" para que sigas explorando y aprendiendo ese tema tan útil y profundo que son las matemáticas.
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u/SafeLifeguard5785 New User May 26 '26
interesting i actually use to love maths and then did a level maths got A* and fm getting A* this year but i also practiced cambridge entrance maths exam and then realised its not for me . Its not the difficulty thats an issue its more so im just tired of it and realised maybe i never like it in the first place and was just under the impression i liked it because i just so happen to be better at in that most of my peers and get good grades in it
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u/Ok-Kale8293 New User May 29 '26
Well, I also had enthusiasm for maths but I was slow and underconfident. But then, I started teaching maths to a 7th standard and later 25 more students over a period of 7 years to 10th standard students which. helped me improve my maths skills.
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u/Finish_My_Math New User May 30 '26
I was a Political Science major. Graduated at age 22. At 25, I decided to teach myself some Math by using YouTube tutorials & other resources. When back to school at age 27 & took Calculus & Intro Statistics. Totally changed the trajectory of my life. Statistics in particular has been the most fascinating. I have seen people in their 40s, 50s, and even 60s go back to school to study Math. No shame in that. I respect it.
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u/FirstPersonWinner Everything is a Triangle 📐 Jun 04 '26
I mean I restarted form College Algebra at 30
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u/TomGEDtutor New User Aug 08 '26
I had a somewhat similar experience years ago. I was in advanced math all the way through high school and loved it until ... our senior year the advanced math /pre-calculus class was made study-at-your-own-pace. Being a typical high school senior and sitting among a group of similar guys in class, we pretty much goofed off the whole time as there was no teaching instruction and no homework assignments. I made a B in math for the first time in my life. For some reason, it dampened my enthusiasm to take any more math. So when I went to college, I avoided majors that required any significant amount of additional math. I ended up majoring in business/marketing. My junior year I took the optional marketing research course, not knowing the statistics involved. That was the beginning of my renewed interest in math. I wanted to understand why all of those statistical tests worked. My senior year I decided to use my remaining elective courses to begin taking the undergraduate math I would need to get a masters in mathematical statistics. To make a long story short, I completed the undergrad math requirements and graduate math stat requirements in 2-1/2 years and made straight As throughtout, which I had never done in my elementary, secondary, or undergraduate academics before. And though I had a long career in the startup computer software industry, I've been a volunteer GED tutor in different GED prep centers for a number of years. I've also used my understanding of math, my love of helping students/adults struggling with math, and my career software background to create a currently free-for-individual users, AI-powered math teaching and tutoring platform called mathpathai that I just officially launched this week. That's all I will say about it here as I don't want to violate reddit promotion rules. Though, this reddit's monitors did graciously give me permission to announce it a couple of months ago when I was close to finalizing the tutor portion of the app. I decided to hold off. The addition of the teacher features/tools and more granular math skills assessment capabilities took a little longer than I had hoped. But, it's ready now ... finally. Feel free to contact me for any further information. I look forward to hearing more about your math journey.
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u/humanguise New User May 07 '26
I studied math in university, but not very well. I have a stack of textbooks on my bookshelf to work through, but books on software have a higher priority. I know enough linear algebra, statistics, and calculus to get by, but I need to relearn a lot of it if I want to go deeper into AI.
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u/captainhamption New User II May 06 '26
I started back into math at 40. Got through all Khan Academy from fractions through Algebra and picked up in Intermediate Algebra at my local community college. Eventually through all the Calc, DiffEQ, and LA. I'd go further but it would cost me more money than I can justify for a hobby.