What maths do you use in your job?

[DreamingofBrie]

A few years ago, a teacher started a brilliant thread on MN, asking posters whether they used maths in their job, and if so what job they did. The thread had hundreds of responses and it was great to see the diversity of the replies - I've used those responses in my classroom to show pupils how maths is used in jobs that they might not have thought of. Replies included a pilot, QC, nail technician, mediator, charity worker, SAHM, computer network programmer, chef, dancer, sports performance coach and many many more.

I'm a Maths teacher, so I use all sorts of maths in my job every day . I'm hoping for more interesting replies from this thread, so that I can update the display in my classroom!

Thanks in advance!

I am an admissions officer and I use graphs to predict trends.

@LosingLola Sounds like you have the same job as me 🙂🚑

Work in service control on the underground. Have to calculate walking times, run times, lateness and service recovery calculations, train stock balance, (fairly straightforward, but has to be quick and done in your head- no time to write it all out).

In my previous job as a timetable planner I had to use all sorts of complex excel formulas to create static models of train services to calculate train requirements, maintenance requirements, mileage run; spreadsheet modelling in other words. That was a very maths intensive job. All of this from the equivalent of a-level maths (and a bit of creativity and googling).

I’m a pharmacy technician, I use math all day.
I check doses, drug quantities (I’m ace at my 28 x tables!) prescription charges, taking money and counting change.
Half of it I don’t even need to think about I can do it off the top of my head.

Not much.
VAT on invoices. The most tricky is when only part of the invoice is VAT applicable but it is lumped into the total costing (taxis).
Budget management but this is mainly updating spreadsheets.
Event / Project costings but again this is really simple addition / subtraction or formula on spreadsheets.

Paramedic

Drugs dosages
Peoples ages
Counting how long left till the end of my shift, hours spent in the hospital corridor, hours late I finish, how long left of my break etc.
Counting chest compressions, breathing rate, pulses etc.

SW here. Currently support people with their alcohol use so often working out alcohol units and carrying out screenings for depression, anxiety, helping people budget etc

GP Receptionist, prescription ordering for 7 day or 28 day supply. I do use a calculator though to check.

I do a lot of quotes every day. I add the business's cut then have to add VAT on top, sometimes multiply and sometimes divide too. My work is all numbers (size of car parts). I am permanently attached to a calculator though.

In a previous life doing archaeology I used triangulation, and the 3,4,5 triangle (I actually can't remember the proper name of that triangle ) to lay out a grid on site for drawing plans of a dig. Also locating the plan on an OS map and using coordinates. I was really good at that shit then. I even remember learning about the triangles at school but found it hard going and wondered when I would ever use it again... All it took was a different, more practical approach for me to 'get it'.

Budgeting £ and %!

I'm an architect and use maths in my job all the time. Working out areas, volumes, lengths & angles (roof pitches) of buildings
Doing calculations for the heat loss, energy usage of buildings and basic structural sizing calculations.
I also use maths for working out people's contract payments - percentages of retention, VAT etc and then again for my own billing and expenses.

Lots! I teach engineering maths at HNC/Fd level.

Oh and I forgot the obvious one of drawing to scale!

I work in HR so I use maths for HR data - diversity stats, pro rats salaries etc.

I run a business employing 8 people. Today I was planning what pay increase we will give to each of our staff members this year, how much this will cost us and how much their take-home pay (after pension etc) will change. I also had a look at how this compares to the national rates for pay inflation, price inflation etc as published by the government and our industry body and thought about whether it mattered if we were above or below the national averages. I also worked out how much more we need to sell to cover our increased costs.

Next week I'll have the happy job of telling them all what I decided!

I work for a very large company global type in an international marketing. I have to be very good at managing my budgets using excel and other software. If I ever over spend or underspend without tracking every penny there would be trouble. I need to know how to use quite complex excel formulae, pivot tables etc to manage all the different budgets around the business. Luckily I like maths and spreadsheets and find it the most calming part of my job :-)

I use maths in my job as a credit controller for a company which sells equipment to manufacturing and engineering firms I analyse the accounts of customers who want to open business accounts with us and buy our products.

Their annual accounts are available on the Companies House website - I have to assess whether or not they are a good risk, and how much credit to allow them.

I also have to decide whether existing customers are in financial difficulties, and whether or not to close their accounts.

I also spend quite a lot of time contacting customers and asking them to pay their bills!

I work as a research scientist. I have to use standard curves to determine unknown concentrations of solutions. I also have to calculate how to dilute chemicals to the correct working concentrations.

We also have strict budgets to work within so I'm often working how many samples we can process depending on unit costs of reagents.

Paediatric nurse it’s constant maths!
Drug calculations, fluid calculations, calculations about additives to fluids, fluids to weigh. Age and estimates, surface areas, calculations to work out size of tubes for approx age of child. ml, mcg, mg, Conversations. mls per hr, mgs per hour, mcg per hour, per min, per day honestly it’s endless maths often under pressure and fast! We do all calculations from scratch we never ever go on what a prescription says!
Had to do hard core statistics as part of my MSc also as basis of all medical research.

Converting weekly pay to monthly and vice vers rob work out people’s monthly incomes. You’d be surprised at how many people have no idea what their monthly household income is and how many people think that you just times the weekly amount by 4 to get the monthly amount.

Working with percentages. For instance A owes B £398.97 and is paying it off at £1.67 a month. After 6 months A is told he now only has to pay £0.05 in the pound. I have to work it out so that the Creditor etc ives the correct money.

Oh and we also have to work with addition a lot like £20,000 accruing at 8% per annum gives you type of thing.

Another one is payment plans, so if someone owes £279.25 and want to pay it off over 3 months paying either weekly, fortnightly or monthly depending on when they are paid.

So many typos sorry.

Clinical Psychologist- use basic maths for

• understanding research articles which use stats
• developing small scale research projects at work which require knowledge of stats
• understanding basic stats as part of cognitive and IQ assessments
• i also lecture so work out basic percentages and descriptive stats when marking students work and devising marking systems
• checking pay slips!
• working out tax for small amount of private practice

Linear regression analysis on large student datasets.

How much holiday I have left

I work in export and use percentages to work out what will / wont fit in a pallet or on a trailer. Also work out net/gross weights.

However i was shit at maths at school and i use a calculator for everything! So i suppose points for and against bothering with maths at school!