Most kids have a strong reaction to math: they either love it, or hate it. The kids who love math will always have an affinity for numbers, knowing how to use them and work with them to do what they want. The kids who hate math may do everything they can to shy away from it, have difficulty remembering basic formulas and forget how to use it even in the simplest ways. Here’s the real problem with that: math is used in almost every job, and it’s definitely used by everyone every day.

High school students, particularly, like to argue that they don’t need to learn math because they’re working toward a career which doesn’t include the subject. And in most cases, the students making that argument are completely wrong. Math and the job market are inextricably linked, as a matter of fact.

Ask any bartender how to make a martini, and they’ll start throwing out measurements. The recipe calls for 2/3 this, 1/3 that and so many drops of something else. Bottom line – it’s a mathematical problem. Ask a delivery driver how many miles their car gets to the gallon, and they’ll give you an answer because their livelihood depends on making good time for less money-¦and it takes math to work that out to create an efficient, profitable delivery route. Math-related jobs aren’t always overt. Numbers are found professionally outside many fields that aren’t science, engineering and architecture.

Even writers have to know how to use math and numbers, professionals who work all day on the art of words. Editors and publishers ask for specific word counts, and writers have to know how to figure that out and how to make it happen. Few jobs require absolutely no math skills at all. Even hotdog vendors are independent businessmen, who must know enough math to figure up their expenses and profits to know what they should charge. Math and the job market go hand in hand-¦so there’s no reason not to start studying right now.