The Author
Garin Savage
I graduated from Utah State University in 2014 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in Aerospace Engineering and minors in Mathematics and Music. I currently teach college algebra for a private company in Ogden, Utah, while working towards a Master of Educational Technology from Boise State University. I love teaching, and am enjoying getting my wife’s and my new son hooked on the math life early. That is, when the dog isn’t distracting him.
The Mission
The number one question I get asked as I teach math is, “When am I ever going to use this?” This is especially true for adult learners, who some argue have an extra “need to know” why something is being learned and how it applies to their lives (Stavredes, 2011; see also Forrest & Peterson, 2006). Many teachers can murmur through some sort of an answer that often translates to something along the lines of, “It builds character.” For many learners, this isn’t enough.
I wanted to create this page as a resource for teachers and students who want to learn how math is applied to the real world and how different career paths use that knowledge. Would you like to know how a childcare professional uses algebra, or how a bookkeeper uses exponential growth and decay functions, or how basically everyone uses probability and statistics? Math can be found in basically every field, even where you least expect it.
My goal is to answer the question, “When am I ever going to use this?,” to the satisfaction of teachers and students alike.
Have a suggestion for a career I haven’t spoken about yet? Feel free to visit my contact page and let me know!
When You Will Use This 