Mathematicians: alternative guide

The Myth

Deep in the bowels of a secret government establishment, a lone mathematician sits, poring over an apparently random and indecipherable stream of characters. He stares ruminatively at it for hours, occasionally scribbling down a thought on the dog-eared pad that sits by his elbow. And then, suddenly, he leaps to his feet with a cry of 'Eureka!'. The code is cracked, the problem solved.

Sitting back down, the mathematician draws deeply from his mug of black coffee. Picking up his pencil he sets to work again, trying to break the next encryption system.

The Reality

The work of mathematicians at GCHQ extends far beyond the narrow, male-biased, caricature described above. The essential tasks of code breaking and code making most assuredly require a strong and imaginative approach to problem solving. But the nature of these tasks is far more complex than you might think - the problems we study rarely have the neat endings of the mythical description above.

The work demands a wide variety of skills, both mathematical and in computer science. And you won't be working by yourself either (well, not all the time). But, yes, you do have to provide your own coffee.

What you'll need

• A strong interest in problem solving
• An aptitude for computer programming
• Plenty of coffee

Reasons to apply

• You want a job in mathematics but don't mind that your work will only be recognised within a small but select community of mathematicians.
• You enjoy finding out what goes on behind a computer's screen.
• You have an interest in learning how to program efficiently some of the most powerful computers in the world.
• You'd like the opportunity to occasionally attend international conferences.
• You want to make a unique contribution to the nation's security.
• You like the idea of not being able to take your work home with you.

Reasons to not apply

• You want an ivory tower job in mathematics where you can publish your work in the wider academic community.
• You're not interested in computer programming.
• You want a job that exclusively involves maths - mathematics underpins virtually all the work of GCHQ mathematicians but by no means every job involves maths directly.
• You want to work with standard computer packages.
• You don't like having to explain complicated mathematical ideas to non-experts - successful cryptanalysis lies at the heart of GCHQ's work and you will be expected to communicate your ideas to non-mathematical decision makers.

...and finally

Above all, GCHQ is a very exciting and satisfying place to work as a mathematician. There are many challenging problems to work on and the environment is supportive and relaxed and not all the maths problems you might encounter directly involve cryptanalysis - there is, for example, a Problem Solving Group that regularly provides solutions to questions presented in the American Mathematical Monthly.

Inevitably the work does have its occasional frustrations but, at other times, it can be intellectually rewarding in a way like no other job.

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