Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T18:46:35.469Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
This chapter is part of a book that is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core

Mark Derwin

Mark Derwin
Affiliation:
SUNY at Stony Brook
Get access

Summary

All through my high school years I learned all that I could about computers. By the time I enrolled in college, I knew three computer languages and three computer systems. I figured that computer science was the only way to go. I was wrong. By the end of my sophomore year, I was bored and looking for new challenges. That was when I discovered applied mathematics and statistics.

After two years of calculus and programming, I finally had a chance to apply some of the theory. New ideas and challenges were presented to me. I particularly enjoyed puzzles and problem-solving. Courses such as graph theory, game theory, and combinatorics provided me with new insight for solving difficult problems.

At graduation I decided that the real world was not ready for me. I applied and was accepted to the Stony Brook Masters program in operations research. These courses taught me how to budget and organize my resources, including time. Also, I learned to apply my skills to real-life situations. No longer was everything theoretical. One of the most rewarding parts of my MS study was a practicum study of the Long Island Railroad on railroad car utilization.

During my second semester of graduate school, I started working for a small software firm as a technical writer. While learning and documenting their systems, I discovered many bugs, and I was promoted to Software Quality Assurance.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Mathematical Association of America
Print publication year: 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Mark Derwin
  • Edited by Andrew Sterrett
  • Book: 101 Careers in Mathematics
  • Online publication: 05 September 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.5948/9781614441168.035
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Mark Derwin
  • Edited by Andrew Sterrett
  • Book: 101 Careers in Mathematics
  • Online publication: 05 September 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.5948/9781614441168.035
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Mark Derwin
  • Edited by Andrew Sterrett
  • Book: 101 Careers in Mathematics
  • Online publication: 05 September 2014
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.5948/9781614441168.035
Available formats
×