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Does Software Engineering require a lot of math?

I'm a part of the ITA academy in my school and I'm still deciding on what I want my career to be, I'm curious if Software Engineering requires a lot of math, I'm oookaay at math but not the best so I just wanted to know if there is a lot of math involved. Also I want to know if being a Software Engineer is stressful.
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Adam’s Answer

A "software engineer" job title is usually "writing code", "programming", "software developer". It does not use a lot of math, but it does use lots of LOGIC.

At college, you want an "Information Technology/Systems" or "MIS" degree (Business College),
NOT "Computer Engineering" (math-heavy, hardware-centric).

Of course, a Business Management minor is ALWAYS a plus.
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Daniel’s Answer

Yea agree with Adam. The actual amount of math required in day-to-day Software Engineering is extremely minimal, if any. (Except for a few esoteric positions). However you *need* to be able to think extremely logically. You can learn how to do this, but it is a weird mindset to get in to.


Whether or not it's stressful depends a lot on your company, role, teammates, boss, etc. There are a lot of really stressful Software Engineering jobs. There are a lot of more laid back Software Engineering jobs (assuming, as mentioned earlier, you've learned how to think very logically).
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Alan’s Answer

I don't think it is so much the use of mathematics, but more to do with the way you think and the create patterns or formulas to create algorithms to solve problems or achieve outcomes. There are constraints on developing software such as time to code, code performance and cost, so quick efficient solutions which can be reused are highly valued. Capabilities which are good at solving complex mathematics are good for developing coding solutions, but it is not just mathematics. Communication and teamwork are other critical skills of successful developers.
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Epoch’s Answer

Niya,

Software engineering is not stressful once you know how to enjoy that job. Imagine what you will be doing with the software you are writing, you will be changing the world in a better way. In any job there will be stress and you can overcome once you start seeing the positive side of the impact that you will be creating!

let's come back to the original question, Is there lot of math involved in software engineering. There is math in every aspect of life and SW engineering is no exception. You don't need to be master in Math to be a software engineer, but good understanding of logical thinking and reasoning will make you a better SW engineer. The modern languages are more forgiving and takes lot of hard work away from the programmers, so having the ability to see the big picture, higher level design of any software application, how to break into multiple logical components are more critical for a successful career in SW engineering. You can see lot of programmers but being a software engineer is not just coding but the design and architecting, developing code that is re-usable, modular and has a good work flow. There are branches of software engineering where numbers are critical and for sure if you are aversion to mathematics navigate away so you can enjoy the work you do.

The previous responses has been on spot as well to give you a complete picture, feel free to ask any follow on questions on this if you have.
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Doug’s Answer

I agree with Daniel and Adam about there being minimal math required for software engineering, when we are talking about software for business applications (software that automates business processes like for finance, accounting, HR) and public/ consumer applications on the web like social media websites. Of course there can always be some simple arithmetic in those applications (programs), but not much mathematics like geometry, trigonometry or calculus. However, there is a whole world of engineering applications for software. Software runs everything and is everywhere. For example, there are so many computer chips in our cars that run software - controlling the engine, steering, braking, emissions, etc. etc. Software in our cell phones controls the connections to the cell phone system and the internet. Its in all the appliances in our homes. This is "embedded" software, you can think of it as "behind the scenes". There can be a tons of mathematics implemented in engineering application software (and software that controls mathematic equations running on specialized chips, e.g. "video chips"). People developing that kind of software need to understand and work with higher mathematics of engineering. This type of software engineering is relatively specialized in terms of the number of people doing it compared to non-engineering applications. Most doing engineering application software come from an engineering background. As for software engineering being stressful - it can be, but so can any job, and part of growing in our professional as well as private lives is learning and practicing healthy ways to handle stress.
Well, I'm afraid this answer has gone beyond what was asked but I hope it helpful for Niya and the community.
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Jingwei’s Answer

Based on my personal experience, it totally depends on the type of engineer you want to be.
1. For general software engineering, it is more about the logical thinking, some advanced problems might involve Graph Theory.
2. For Machine Learning engineer, you need to equip yourself with good knowledge of Calculus, Linear Algebra and Probability.

To grow into a good software engineer, I would strongly recommend do as much practice as possible and never stop learning.

Coding Practice website:
https://leetcode.com/

Online Course website:
https://www.udemy.com/
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