It’s 2025. AI is listening to us attentively, calculations of any complexity can be simply outsourced, and many processes simply happen in the background. There are even algorithms for calculating balances, return on investment, and other complex tasks that only require input. Does this mean that mathematical knowledge can be discarded as unnecessary? Of course not. 

No software can replace understanding numbers and working with them. Any mistake made by a person or AI during calculations can produce completely different results, and the user will not even notice it until it is too late. In fact, there is even more mathematics in our lives, but these are not the complex equations that we are used to in school. Many key processes in work, from recognizing patterns to solving problems, are mathematical calculations.

The Disguised Demand: Where Math Hides

In our heads, there is a direct connection between mathematics and perhaps engineering, physics, or accounting. But what if we dig a little deeper into other areas:

1. Marketing Analyst: A huge part of the work is related to Google Analytics, calculates ROI, performs statistical A/B testing.
2. Supply Chain Manager: Performs work on calculating cost models, forecasts costs, demand, and optimizes logistics losses.
3. Urban Planner: Uses geometry, spatial analysis, traffic models.
4. Healthcare Technician: Accuracy in analyzing treatments, analyzing tests, and adjusting equipment is vital.

Digital Literacy Isn’t Enough—Numeracy Counts

We often celebrate digital literacy. Coding boot camps, cloud certifications, blockchain seminars. But what about numeracy—the ability to reason with numbers?

Numeracy is now as critical as literacy. Consider this: study found that workers with high numeracy skills earned, on average, 16% more than those with weak math abilities, even in non-STEM roles.

The reasoning is simple. Employers don’t want employees who follow instructions like robots. They want humans who understand context. A manager who can interpret sales trends, a nurse who calculates dosages precisely, a journalist who spots flaws in statistics—these are math skills in disguise.

Automation Demands More, Not Less

Ironically, the more we automate, the more we need math. Wait—what? Yes. Here's the twist.

Machines handle execution. But they need humans to define problems, evaluate results, and adjust variables. That’s math. The strategic layer. The part machines can’t improvise.

Take artificial intelligence. Training a model requires understanding distributions, probabilities, optimization—pure math. Even using AI responsibly demands interpreting its outputs, setting thresholds, checking biases. But AI can help here too, for example, with a math solver. Using a math solver for Chrome, which you can join now, problems with calculations or inaccurate results will become a thing of the past. It helps optimize your workday, check the accuracy of results, and even learn to understand math problems more deeply. Math isn’t just a backstage tool. It’s the script.

Math Anxiety: A Silent Career Killer

Although it is rarely mentioned, math anxiety is common in society and is one of the factors that prevents people from applying for new or higher roles. The fear of making the wrong decision or not considering all the factors and variables will mean that a person will procrastinate and have a hard time accepting mistakes.

If you do not work on this problem, your thinking will become blocked and it will become even harder to make decisions as you get older. Perhaps it is worth rethinking the meaning of math. It is not about numbers, it is about stories, understanding variables and being prepared for consequences, both positive and negative. It is not only the path that is compared, but also the outcome. Perfection is still unattainable in most situations, but math is a tool for finding the most acceptable path.

Don’t Have Math Skills? Here’s What to Do

You don't have to start with higher mathematics right away. The main task is to take the first step and regularly develop your mathematical knowledge. Apps like Khan Academy, Coursera, or YouTube's 3Blue1Brown offer free training courses. In them, you can set your main focus and develop in the direction that you need most often.

Next, try data tools: Excel, Google Sheets, Tableau. Working with data is close to mathematics, you need to learn how to clean it, summarize and visualize it. The next step is statistics, modeling and financial mathematics.

The main skill that will help you develop mathematical knowledge and understanding is thinking in numbers, finding patterns. Don't think about something - little or much, calculate the exact percentage, evaluate the results, learn to read graphs. You will achieve everything else, too, you just need a little more time.

Final Word: Numbers Don’t Lie, and Neither Does the Market

The job market today is loud. Hybrid roles, lots of complex calculations, new tools appearing regularly - all this can be confusing. But if there is a solid foundation, the listed tools will only complement existing skills. One of the whales on which every person’s universe stands is mathematics. The question, “Is it possible to do without mathematics?” now sounds simply absurd.

Instead of looking for specialties that depend less on mathematics, you can establish a connection with it and find a point of understanding. Behind every strategy, every campaign, every solution - there’s a spreadsheet, or a graph, or a formula.

So yes - math skills still matter. They matter more than ever. Not because we don’t have tools, but because we do. And those tools need skilled hands, sharp minds, and people who can make sense of the numbers that shape our world.