American Mathematical Society :: Early Career Profiles

James McCreary

What James does:

James works on the trajectory analysis simulations and mission planning software for a company that builds targeting, planning and analysis software for a Naval weapon system.
He has held his current position for five years.
As an undergrad, James worked for the NSWC as a co-op student.

On the job:

James holds a coordination role with several of the Navy's prime contractors, regularly communicating and meeting with various government, military, and civilian organizations.
He is frequently using statistics, probability, and linear mathematics.
James cannot divulge much detail or name specific projects he works on, but they vary greatly in both their scope and focus. He has authored user guides for trajectory simulation software, applied linear regression techniques to create mission analysis tools, held meetings with dozens of defense organizations, and spent many hours in weapons system labs.

James's Background:

James attended Tennessee Tech University from 1998-2003, majoring in mathematics. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Systems Engineering.
He doesn't pinpoint any specific math technique that helps him in his career, but college level mathematical thinking is an asset. He regularly applies logical analysis and problem solving acquired in math studies.
For a technical career such as his, clear verbal and written communication amongst varied groups of professionals is important for James. He attributes his skill to attending math classes with engineering and physics students.

Advice for students:

"Early in your career, breadth of knowledge is more important than depth of knowledge. In other words, it is more useful to you to know something about a wide range of topics than it is to concentrate too much on any one subject. Be flexible. Take upper level classes outside your major. Become involved in varied extracurriculars. Have hobbies. Most employers are more likely to hire a well-rounded young employee than one who spent all of their time trying to get an A+ in advanced calculus."