The Expectations* for Math Skills in Software Development

posted in analysis, career, tech on by

*As told by a small Twitter group 🙂

A math book sitting on graphing paper next to a mechanical pencil

A conversation took place this past week in which a friend of mine asked about software development and what the daily experience is like. I started to highlight how there are many layers and how roles vary depending on where in the “river” you are e.g. me being a Product Owner and needing to be closer to the customers and business needs while not too far away from the code itself. (Read more about my shift from full-time development to PO). The conversation then shifted to this idea of how people feel as though math skills indicate coding competency and I realized I didn’t have a very good response to that assumption despite how that belief bothered me. I wanted to not only explore my frustration with the notion, but check in with some of my beloved Twitter pals to catch their thoughts.

First, why did this common “I’m no good at math” line bug me? Was it because I’d heard it so many times from students I taught in my chapter-leading days? Perhaps because I knew that I didn’t use intense levels of math in my decade of coding? Maybe I’m grappling with the reality that math isn’t always taught in a manner that clicks with people? Hmm. Meanwhile, I freakin’ loved math. I was in various Math Counts competitions through 8th grade (think Mathletes) and my high school class requested a Calc II course since we burned through all the existing curriculum. Pretty sure my affinity for math was due to treating it all like patterns and riddles. Hell, I owe my career in large part to my HS math teacher, as she not only introduced me to the sole programming course at my school, but she made me aware of RIT as well. (Thank your teachers!). While I admit that I used my “math prowess” as a confidence boost in my early coding days, I fell in love with programming because of the creativity it demanded and knowing I could leverage my artistic side as well. I found my melting pot and made a career out of it. So, sure! I could say, “I’m good at math” and further perpetuate this idea that one must “get it” to be a good developer, but I just don’t like setting wonky expectations for people without more of a consensus. I wanted to know what other developers though so I took to Twitter and boy oh boy did folks deliver!

I’m overwhelmed with responses and thoroughly enjoyed reading all the input as well as the unexpected story directions. I made an attempt to break down the responses by categorizing the themes (8 total) in the tweets, resulting in 347 data points. Here’s how folks tweeted:

  • 46 generally enjoyed math or felt a confidence boost from knowing it.
  • 67 hated it or said it rarely clicked.
  • 44 believed that coding helped their understanding of math.
  • 35 had issues with how math is taught and/or had bad teachers.
  • 28 mentioned that logic is the important factor.
  • 16 discussed math phobias or a harsh fear/experiences. 🙁
  • 8 brought up Dyscalculia and Dyslexia as added barriers.
  • Now for my favorite: 107 said that math is barely a factor.

So for those doing the math (teehee), nearly a third of the responses were pretty much a shrug of “eh, I might use some algebra here and there, but nothing I can’t look up.” Now, folks were wise to mention that the math intensity varies depending on your project, but that thread is a living example of how pounding math into your head isn’t as imperative as perhaps it was before all these libraries and resources were available. Another point to highlight is how many people have negative, anxious, and/or phobic experiences with math given the pressures and expectations around it. A rather organic discussion about how math is taught started to surface and I so appreciated the ideas that were offered to make math more understandable or relative when learning. Yay reform!

Another favorite part? A good chunk of the folks, many of whom had negative experiences when learning math, got into programming anyways and subsequently learned to love math! Math didn’t get them into programming; programming got them into math! Such a lovely little reversal and more evidence to use when facing anyone that thinks that a particular standard exists. Plus, folks that hated math found open source tools and libraries made by math lovers to help them bypass the mastering of it all. SMART. My biggest takeaway was in that vein: you don’t need to personally know the ins and outs of high-level, intense math, but have some handy resources nearby when needed and a general grasp to get you rolling.

Speaking of resources, I’d like to highlight those that were mentioned in the thread:

So there you have it! An unsolicited analysis of math’s impact on a random group of Twitter users! I’d like to keep this conversation going, as the evolution of resources and technology inevitably impacts the foundation we expect folks to have when entering the field. You can clearly see the instances in which we’ve almost lost talented folks to the space due to these unnecessarily high bars. Bleh. And as someone that wants to shake up tech and see more vantage points in the problem-solving mix, we simply cannot have such frivolous barriers in the mix. Do your part to help shake the bad expectations.

Please chime in with more thoughts by adding them to that thread if you have them. I’m still getting notifications for it so I’ll continue to watch it roll. I have my end-of-year post in the works so keep your eyes peeled for that coming up next!