Importance of Math Skills in the Workforce

1. Importance of Math Skills in the Workforce Katie Lucero Mathematics Professor Sierra College

2. “For the things of this world cannot be made known without a knowledge of mathematics.”~Roger Bacon

3. Degree Level Increased Studies have shown that students who take higher level math courses (more demanding) in high school go on to obtain markedly higher levels of education, then students who stop at a lower level math class.

4. Earning Potential Increased Studies have also shown that students who take higher level math courses (more demanding) in high school go on to earn significantly larger salaries 10 years after high school, then students who stop at a lower level math class.

5. Common Math Skills Needed: • General “Number Sense” • Positive/Negative Signs On Numbers • Comparing Numbers (Size of the Numbers) • Arithmetic (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division) of Whole Numbers • Basic Operations • Mathematical Precedence (Order of Operations)

6. Common Skills Needed (continued…): • Rounding Numbers • Significant Digits (Example: Rounding a calculation to a specified number of significant digits determined by the desired need for accuracy) • Converting between Fractions and Decimals • Arithmetic with Fractions (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division) • Applications with Fractions (Example: Determining how many cm lengths can be cut from a rod of total length m)

7. Common Skills Needed (continued…): • Understanding Data Found From Measurement Tools (Example: Using a ruler or meter stick and understanding the notation on the tool.) • Scientific Notation (Example: ft) • Engineering and Pre-Fix Notation (Example: ) • Arithmetic with Numbers in Scientific Notation

8. Common Skills Needed (continued…): • Unit Conversion (Example: Converting between Metric and US Customary System) • Observing Trends on a Graph • Graphing Data • Graphing Empirical Data • Graphing Generated Data from a Trend/Modeled Equation • Graphing on a Logarithmic Scale • Using Graphical Data to Write Equations/Model Behavior and Predict Future Behavior

9. Common Skills Needed (continued…): • General Statistics • Mean • Median • Mode • Range • Standard Deviation • Statistical Inference • -R charts

10. Common Skills Needed (continued…): • Trigonometry • Right Angle Trig • Finding Unknown Angles/Side Lengths in Right Triangles using Sine, Cosine and Tangent Ratios • Trigonometric Graphs • Sinusoidal Waves

11. What are the entry level math skills required for a technician in your industry? Answers supplied by the HR representative of a Manufacturing Employer: • Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication • Decimals • Fractions • Converting decimals into fractions and vice versa

12. Continued… • Using measuring tools such as micrometers, measuring tapes, verneer calipers • Simple trigonometry (understanding of angles) • Metric conversions • Knowing difference between height, width, depth, diameter (depths of threads) • Speeds and feeds formulas (each material, such as steel, has different surface footage, therefore different speeds and feeds when feeding material into a machine to make parts.)

13. Employees are lacking Necessary Math Skills • What can we do? • Determine what skills employers are looking for and let students know these skills will make them more employable • Encourage students to take higher level math classes in high school and beyond • Discourage students from taking long breaks between math courses • Incorporate math into other classes where they will get a sense of the applications of mathematics