| Proof writing. Sat down with a textbooks and partial solutions at the back. Took a year as I had other priorities. Advice: 1.Regardless of which route you choose to go whether probability theory, algebraic geometry or optimization algorithms, do a course in proof writing. Absolutely do not skip it. It will teach the fundamentals and most importantly patience and persistence 2. If you're a programmer, prepare yourself for a much larger feedback loop. Unlike code which can just be executed and you have the satisfaction of seeing something sorta work at first try, math is a completely different beast. It will punch your expectations in the face, and the progress points you celebrate will be a joke compared to what you are used to with code 3. Screw the videos, just sit down with a hardcopyand work through the theory and most importantly work through the problems.Try to get a textbook with a partial solution set. 4. Practice Practice Practice your fundamentals 5. Have realistic goals and timelines! People trip up here big time 6. Be prepared to dive into things that at first glance may seem unrelated. Don't skip chapters just because you think you don't really need to make progress towards your topic of interest. More often than not, you'll end up coming back 7. Celebrate the small milestone 8. Expect things to get exponentially difficult as you go along. 9. Learn how to manage extreme frustration and learn to keep your promise to come back to a problem you couldn't solve again and again. Nothing ever gets done in one sitting especially if you're learning. 10. Mixup things to make sure things don't get boring! |