The Hopkins Undergraduate Society for Applied Math (HUSAM) had Leslie Deich, Fannie Mae’s Vice President of Credit Analysis, speak as part of their series focusing on careers in mathematics last Tuesday. The event was cosponsored by the Economics and Finance Club and the Trading Team. About 35 students attended the event.
Deich spoke about how she grew up loving math, but was hesitant in college to declare herself an applied math major.
Her parents — neither of whom had attended college — went heavily into debt to pay for her tuition at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and didn’t see how studying math would lead to a good job offer.
To appease her parents, Deich added a second major in computer science, and began her career in mathematics.
Deich’s realization that applied math could be useful in the private sector came when, as an undergraduate, she developed a mathematical algorithm to help her sister, a quality control analyst for an industrial bakery. Her sister’s job was to determine which dough recipes could stay soft the longest while being kneeded. Deich was convinced that math held the answer.
“It was easy, just a matter of finding a regression point,” she said. “I wasn’t even thinking of this being a job. I was just trying to help out my sister.”
Deich spoke frankly about benefits and the challenges of working as an analyst in the corporate world, and offered advice for the students.
She encouraged students to find a field of math that they are interested in. “Make a list of things you don’t like, and what you don’t want to be part of your job. A lot of the time, that will tune you in to what you do like.”
She also spoke about what it is like as a mathematician working in a corporate environment. A major part of her job is to explain mathematical concepts to her fellow executives. “The reality is that finance executives don’t always understand the math behind what they’re doing.”
Deich recommended that students involve themselves in tutoring projects to practice translating complicated mathematical concepts into understandable language.
“If you can explain it to a second grader, then you can explain it to a corporate executive,” Deich said.
However, she also noted that she has learned a lot from her business-oriented colleagues.When teaching statistics in an MBA program at her graduate school, Deich first noticed the teamwork and cooperation that executives are required to display.
She has also noticed that at firms where she has worked like AT&T and Fannie Mae.
“They work together to be successful,” said Deich. “That’s a really important skill. Our schools don’t teach that enough.”
Deich also discussed how she’s learned to make “elevator pitches” — brief explanations of her work to superiors she meets in an elevator. “If you can’t explain what you’re doing in the course of a two-story elevator ride, they’re going to wonder why they’re paying your salary,” she said.
Students and faculty involved with the event were pleased. Applied math and statistics professor Donniell Fishkind, an advisor to HUSAM, called Deich’s talk, “wonderfully engaging,” and noted that this was one of many speakers HUSAM has brought in to talk about career prospects for applied math majors. Last fall, for example, HUSAM brought in a leading actuary from the Social Security Administration.
Graduate student Darsh Singh, the president of the Finance and Economics Club, also spoke highly of Deich.
“She has both industry experience and [an] educational understand[ing] of credit risk and credit analysis,” Singh said. “Anyone who’s interested in a career in either academics or industry would be interested in hearing her speak.”
Deich also responded to questions about what it’s like to work at Fannie Mae in light of how heavily the company was hit by the mortgage crisis.
Deich came to Fannie Mae in 2008, just as the company was in its worst shape. Deich surprised the audience by arguing that working at Fannie Mae during the mortgage crisis was in many ways better than working at AT&T during the company’s heyday.
“Look for failing businesses, not booming businesses [when seeking employment]” Deich. said “Booming businesses are set in their ways and don’t want to change. That’s why they ultimately fail. Failing businesses on the other hand are looking for suggestions. They want to change.”
Senior HUSAM President Rachel Kloss liked this message.
“I appreciate what she said about how to be successful in business as well as in math,” she said.
Kloss said she believed the event was helpful in convincing applied math majors that their major is preparing them for the workforce.
“People often ask me what I can do with an applied math degree, said Kloss. “My response is that I can go into anything from applied math. The purpose of these events is to help people to see the places applied math can take them.
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