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Why maths is important in all career choices

What do farmers, pharmacists, engineers and mums have in common? They all use maths every day in their roles! In celebration of Scottish Careers Week (7-11 November), we've rounded up some of our favourite examples shared in our annual #ShowYourWorking campaign, which highlights the importance of maths across all jobs and sectors and provides real-life examples to inspire young people in their career choices.

SYW Marine Biologist

Dr Katherine Whyte shares how she uses maths daily in her job as an Environmental Statistician and Marine Biologist, such as estimating how many marine animals are affected by different human activities in our oceans.

SYW Mum

Depute Head Teacher Mrs Duncan is currently on maternity, and shares how important measuring and time keeping skills are in her role as a new mum.

SYW Countryside Ranger

Emily Wilkins is a Countryside Ranger for the National Trust for Scotland, and uses maths in lots of different ways in her job, including mapping, monitoring wildlife, and forecasting the weather.

SYW Pharmacist

Pharmacists use maths every day to ensure medicines are safe and effective. These pupils used their maths skills to check the doses of Paracetamol for different ages.

SYW Tour Operator

Parents at Bankhead Primary School shared how they use maths and numeracy in a number of jobs, for example as a Tour Operator.

SYW Farmer

As a farmer, Mark Buchan uses maths to work out the amounts of seeds and fertiliser he needs, and the yield of crops per acre sewn.

SYW Digital Intern maps

In her role as Digital Intern for the Second World War and Holocaust Partnership Programme, Rosie uses her maths skills when working with maps, to find out information about the past.

SYW Mechanical Design Engineer

The staff at Logan Energy use maths in a number of ways, including this Mechanical Design Engineer who uses maths to assist in the safe design of hydrogen equipment.

SYW ST Volunteer Photography

As a Volunteer in the Science & Technology Department at National Museums Scotland, Andrew was surprised to discover how much maths was involved in designing a photographic exhibition.

SYW Maths Teacher travel

And, last but not least, we'd all expect maths teachers to use maths every day in their jobs, but this maths teacher who works across different schools also uses their maths skills to calculate their journey times based on distance and speed.

If you want to share the maths in your role join our #ShowYourWorking campaign or why not register as a STEM ambassador in time for Maths Week Scotland 2023.

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5 Burrell Nursery 1st Jan-31st Dec

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