Myth #6 - It's All Math and Science

This is just not true, but I hear it all the time. A career in programming does involve a fair bit of mathematics, but other IT careers can be fully explored and enjoyed by the "math impaired" (as a friend of mine describes herself). Many other attributes are valued in IT positions such as teamwork, creativity, leadership ability and artistic style.

What perpetuates this myth? Many prospective IT students think that programming is the only IT career that is available. This misconception is often reinforced by the fact that an introductory programming class is often a prerequisite course for all other IT courses. Therefore, the student who struggles with mathematics gets a bad impression of IT in their first course and either gives up or moves on to pursue a career in another field. We need to educate prospective students about the broad range of IT professions, the majority of which can be pursued without heavy use of mathematics.

So, brush up on your algebra if you are going to be working with programmers (you'll want to understand what they are talking about). For other careers, a passing acquaintance with mathematics should get you by.