A Mathematician's Survival Guide: Graduate School and Early Career Development [Paperback]

Steven G. Krantz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 082183455X | ISBN-13: 978-0821834558 | Publication Date: July 29, 2003

Graduate school marks the first step toward a career in mathematics for young mathematicians. During this period, they make important decisions which will affect the rest of their careers. Here now is a detailed guide to help students navigate graduate school and the years that follow. <P>In his inimitable and forthright style, Steven Krantz addresses the major issues of graduate school, including choosing a program, passing the qualifying exams, finding an advisor, writing a thesis, and getting that first job. As with his earlier guide, How to Teach Mathematics, he avoids generalities, giving clear advice on how to handle real situations. The book also contains a description of the basic elements of a mathematical education, as well as a glossary and appendices on the structure of a typical department and university and the standard academic ranks. <P>Steven G. Krantz is an accomplished mathematician and an award-winning author. He has published 130 research articles and 45 books. He has worked in many different types of mathematics departments, supervised both masters and doctoral students, and is currently the Chair of the Mathematics Department at Washington University in St. Louis.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Very valuable for the prospective student ... definitely good advice ... definitely recommend to every mathematics department to keep a copy of this book for their undergraduate and graduate students." ---- MAA Online

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: American Mathematical Society (July 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082183455X
• ISBN-13: 978-0821834558
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #624,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plenty of information from behind the scenes, November 1, 2003

By 

Per Kistler - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Mathematician's Survival Guide: Graduate School and Early Career Development (Paperback)

Although the book has been written for prospective graduate
students in mathematics at top universities, I still read it,
to get an idea what such math graduate studies are all about.
And it was quite rewarding, because the author shares all the
information about the educational process, from college to
full professorship, as lucidly as possible. The math scene
described in this book reminds a little of a cult. People
outside the brightest of the brightest, like me, and like
most of humanity, might feel somewhat embarassed. But it was
not written for us. The details of the book are too many
to be represented by examples here, but they cover the whole
range from fincancial aspects, to recommendation letters, to
to whether one should join a mathematical society etc.
A smaller part of the book is even dedicated to mathematics.
It tells first introductorywise then with listings what one
needs to know for the qualifying exams. Overall the book is
really informative and easy too read, almost like a science
fiction. For the intended audience the book seems to be perfect
and for outsiders it's valuable for the insight, as well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Survival Guide for Graduate Students, July 13, 2007

By 

P. Robinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Mathematician's Survival Guide: Graduate School and Early Career Development (Paperback)

I'm a graduate student in computer science, working on my PhD. If you're looking for a sort of rulebook that contains all the meta-knowledge one needs to know to survive in the scientific game, this is it.
The book includes helpful information to questions you probably wouldn't dare to ask anyone:
"How do i choose a thesis advisor?",
"What if I can't solve my thesis problem?",
"Am I in competition with the other graduate students?",
"What kind of money can I make as a professor?"
There's also lots of information about life after graduation, especially relevant for those of us who want to pursue an academic career.

The book is written in an easy to follow style, and gets straight to the point. You really feel that the author knows what he's talking about.
I highly recommend it to anyone planning a career in a science related to maths.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good starting point for graduate school, June 11, 2007

By 

Jesus Oliver (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Mathematician's Survival Guide: Graduate School and Early Career Development (Paperback)

Dr. Krantz's lucid "Survival" guide is rich in advice for the aspiring mathematician who sees a plum job in academia as the ultimate career goal. With section names such as "How do I work my thesis problem?", and "Why does everyone else appear to be succeeding?" Dr. Krantz's chronological account of Math graduate school and the first few years in the work force does an excellent job of providing step-by-step guidance for us future mathematicians. This advice, and the author himself are at their best when talking about prevalent insecurity issues with which all of us mathematicians deal and showing us how such issues are indeed very commonplace and how the solutions are also commonplace and readily available to you.
Now, that being said, it is also important to remember that this is just a rough guide and that not every section in the book should be followed to the letter. More to the point: Dr. Krantz's advice should be used in addition to, not instead of, grad advisors, faculty in your department, and even more senior grad students. Dr. Krantz's advice can be detrimental in some instances and in others, it's just plain wrong. For instance, his advice that a student should NOT study for general and subject GRE's is particularly questionable; in fact I do believe the opposite to be true. GRE tests follow a well-defined set of rules and question formatting; thus, the question themselves have a finite amount of variation to them, and therefore it is precisely in this type of standardized exam MOST students will benefit from reviewing old material and going through numerous practice tests before taking the real thing.

Overall, this is a very good book, full of wisdom and it is, alas, even entertaining at times. If you're considering a career as a mathematician, you would be doing yourself a favor by buying this book and reading it with an epsilon amount of caution.