Part-time local courses in Mathematical subjects

[Nicholasng925]

Originally Posted by Sillyboy

Where do you intend to seek employment? In fact, if you are keen on doing Maths and worried about getting a job in the future, go for statistics or numerical analysis.

Ah, numerical analysis! Heard about this quite frequently in financial mathematics, quantitative finance, financial engineering and computational finance. Very interesting indeed!

[Sillyboy]

Originally Posted by Nicholasng925

Ah, numerical analysis! Heard about this quite frequently in financial mathematics, quantitative finance, financial engineering and computational finance. Very interesting indeed!

Ahuh! Computation Finance basically revolves around Numerical Analysis. Imagine one obtains a fairly complicated equation in finance but couldn't solve it quickly enough to get a solution, numerical methods will be implemented to obtain an approximate solution and they are pretty accurate if the method satisfies certain criteria!

[henry_yew]

Numerical analysis is widely used in different fields. I also use it in civil engineering for finite element analysis. The thing is when you go into more advanced stuff, a lot of the mathematics cannot be solved analytically (to obtain closed-form solutions), but numerical analysis, though tedious and time-consuming, can help you acquire solutions. A person who does numerical analysis will always remember that numerical analysis does not produce an accurate answer (unlike analytical solutions), that an error is bound to be there. But in engineering purposes (or many other fields for that matter), as long as the error is within a certain specified tolerance, then the numerical solution is accepted.

Numerical analysis is tedious, dull, long and prone to human error if done manually (and to certain extent, even if automated). But with the computer and software such as MATLAB, numerical analysis is a powerful tool that can help you solve a highly complex problem in a matter of a few second or a few minutes (depending on the complexity of the analysis). Numerical analysis involves a lot of iterations and checks, and the computer (and MATLAB) is the perfect thing to help you do exactly that.

Though we have the computer to help us, the knowledge in numerical analysis is of utmost importance. Without the knowledge, you can't program the computer to perform the numerical analysis that you intend it to do.

*goes back to MATLAB - I am really doing finite element analysis so numerical analysis is part of my life*

[SHINEE4]

Originally Posted by adele123

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_mathematics

i ask you to read this because you are not asking the right question but eventually, you start to wonder whether the name of the degree matters at all if both degrees constitute of similar subjects

job security? i bet that's not something anybody can give a good enough answer, especially when the area is so wide

Hmm thank lot. seem that u r taking acturial science. Me gonna apply that too. Any advice before i make up my choice? or before i regret???

Originally Posted by Sillyboy

Ahuh! Computation Finance basically revolves around Numerical Analysis. Imagine one obtains a fairly complicated equation in finance but couldn't solve it quickly enough to get a solution, numerical methods will be implemented to obtain an approximate solution and they are pretty accurate if the method satisfies certain criteria!

Computation Finance. quite interesting. Is it a main degree or sub- subject taken for other degree courses? Any local uni provide this degree courses?
N about statistics, what do we study about? career outcomes?

[adele123]

1) why do you want to study actuarial?

2) do you know what it is really about?

3) the quantitative (or computational) finance/(whatever other universities call it, they are pretty much the same), IMO is quite interesting.

it is a main degree, though i have to say, not many universities offer this side of finance as undergraduate studies, i don't know much about local uni so you have to check it out yourself. i think MMU offers something called financial engineering of something like that, which is almost the same i believe. i've seen it being offered as masters in some universities

4) statistics? just think about things you learn in for spm/pre-u, but on a much harder scale. in real world, we deal with data, and we need to analyse them (it's totally not easy though the idea is simple). i don't study real statistics, i only study the statistics for actuarial students, which is different

PS: you can pm me too

[Nicholasng925]

Originally Posted by Sillyboy

Ahuh! Computation Finance basically revolves around Numerical Analysis. Imagine one obtains a fairly complicated equation in finance but couldn't solve it quickly enough to get a solution, numerical methods will be implemented to obtain an approximate solution and they are pretty accurate if the method satisfies certain criteria!

Since you are doing pure maths degree, any idea to further your study in financial market? or academia? I know! Numerical Analysis is a very powerful tool to solve complex questions with approximations.

Originally Posted by henry_yew

Numerical analysis is widely used in different fields. I also use it in civil engineering for finite element analysis. The thing is when you go into more advanced stuff, a lot of the mathematics cannot be solved analytically (to obtain closed-form solutions), but numerical analysis, though tedious and time-consuming, can help you acquire solutions. A person who does numerical analysis will always remember that numerical analysis does not produce an accurate answer (unlike analytical solutions), that an error is bound to be there. But in engineering purposes (or many other fields for that matter), as long as the error is within a certain specified tolerance, then the numerical solution is accepted.

Numerical analysis is tedious, dull, long and prone to human error if done manually (and to certain extent, even if automated). But with the computer and software such as MATLAB, numerical analysis is a powerful tool that can help you solve a highly complex problem in a matter of a few second or a few minutes (depending on the complexity of the analysis). Numerical analysis involves a lot of iterations and checks, and the computer (and MATLAB) is the perfect thing to help you do exactly that.

Though we have the computer to help us, the knowledge in numerical analysis is of utmost importance. Without the knowledge, you can't program the computer to perform the numerical analysis that you intend it to do.

*goes back to MATLAB - I am really doing finite element analysis so numerical analysis is part of my life*

Haha thanks for your descriptions! I guess this will be part of my life too!

Originally Posted by SHINEE4

Hmm thank lot. seem that u r taking acturial science. Me gonna apply that too. Any advice before i make up my choice? or before i regret???

Computation Finance. quite interesting. Is it a main degree or sub- subject taken for other degree courses? Any local uni provide this degree courses?
N about statistics, what do we study about? career outcomes?

Like what adele123 asked, answer those questions and you will pretty much know whether the course is for you or not.

Originally Posted by adele123

1) why do you want to study actuarial?

2) do you know what it is really about?

3) the quantitative (or computational) finance/(whatever other universities call it, they are pretty much the same), IMO is quite interesting.

it is a main degree, though i have to say, not many universities offer this side of finance as undergraduate studies, i don't know much about local uni so you have to check it out yourself. i think MMU offers something called financial engineering of something like that, which is almost the same i believe. i've seen it being offered as masters in some universities

4) statistics? just think about things you learn in for spm/pre-u, but on a much harder scale. in real world, we deal with data, and we need to analyse them (it's totally not easy though the idea is simple). i don't study real statistics, i only study the statistics for actuarial students, which is different

PS: you can pm me too

Yep, MMU does offer foundation and degree in financial engineering and I think it's the only local university providing this course. The other nearer one would be BSc Quantitative Finance in NUS (Singapore).

[izmi308]

Originally Posted by eomr_remmocer

Oh, I am looking in terms of undergraduate level of mathematics, rather than college maths such as STPM's math or Further Maths. Although I am pretty sure there will be some common topics (depth & breadth) shared across these three different maths.

I was hoping to get a some sort of paper qualification for mathematics (if such thing exists). For example, for English that would be IELTS or TOEFL.

I am not sure if such thing exist? If not possible, perhaps my best choice is to go for part-time course in Maths course (i.e. master in maths?). What do you think?

I'm not sure if this would give you a satisfying answer, but there is the Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP) offered by British council. It is a mathematics exam for those who is actually taking Maths in the UK. I'm not sure if there is class for this paper in British Council, but why don't you ring them up and ask for advice.

[quest_5692]

Originally Posted by eomr_remmocer

Hi,

I am not sure if my case is unique or anything, but is there a uni/college out there (local) that provides part-time courses in mathematical subjects e.g. statistics, calculus etc? It's like taking individual subjects and take related tests.

I have already graduated and I want to improve my maths grad to prove my determination when applying to work/masters programme.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks!

my further maths teacher is undergoing part time maths master from university of waterloo. (all online)

for extra classes, go courseera.org

a lot of excellent courses from prestigious unis (princeton stanford). to top it off, you will get a cert when you finish a course.