5 Ways to Improve Your Numeracy Skills to Prepare for Your Internship

The word ‘numeracy’ often triggers unpleasant flashbacks of high school arithmetic. 

Most of us slugged through school with a very weak grasp of this otherwise elegant subject. Even today, math maintains the spot for the hardest subject to torture young minds. According to a recent survey, around 37% of American youths consider themselves ‘bad at math’.

But even those who fall outside the statistics don’t usually pursue a career in Maths or Physics. As of late 2020, the most popular and highest-earning jobs all have skills in maths or logic in common. Statisticians, web or software developers, research analysts, and financial advisors have all harnessed their numeracy prowess to succeed. 

However, numeracy is not just numbers and equations. It involves the collection, analysis, and presentation of data which contributes to vital business decision making.

Whether you’re a rising data analyst or an experienced graphic designer, numeracy skills can always be put into good use – subconsciously or otherwise.

Here are five ways to improve your numeracy skills that will prepare you for your internship and your future career.

No, don’t get your spirits low just yet. Think of self doubt as self correction or self questioning. 

Apart from the conventional skills like addition, multiplication, subtraction, etc., self questioning is an indissoluble component of every numeracy skill set. 

By putting your results through the ringer, you are bound to extract new data and look at the end product with a fresh pair of eyes. 

Or, conversely, if your solution is going nowhere, it’s time for a quick method check or self reflection. Asking for a second or third opinion is also a good idea. It illuminates your mistakes, and increases the folds in your ball of gray matter.

Known as the Mozart of Chess, Magnus Carlsen is famous for habitually seeking advice during chess games. He observes other chess boards as his opponent ponders over the next move. In doing so, Carlsen detects patterns and singles out the best alternatives for his next moves and strategies. 

This unfailing method has helped him hold the Grand Chess Master title for almost 9 years. And is a great way to analyse and compare other options you’ve never considered until then!

Microsoft Excel is for many the most powerful and flexible calculation tool out there. 

First unveiled in 1985, Excel has revamped the way professionals and regular folk organize and present data. 

And while it does the calculations for you, Excel demands a myriad of functions to work properly. Naturally, learning these rules and formulae is a challenge in its own right. But it will help you reveal many repeating patterns in mathematics. 

There are plenty of great resources and even some free courses out there, so make the most of it. You’ll be a spreadsheet fiend in no time. And let’s face it; no matter your industry, it’s likely that at some point you’ll need to use it – or at the very least interpret data.

For instance, some marketing teams use it to create GANTT charts and many businesses use it for project management. In fact, MS Excel has multiple different uses, each helpful across various industries.

Today, more than 89% of businesses use Excel for budgeting. It may look like a drag to get the hang of, but it’s a drag worth going through if you aim at better employability and mathematical acumen. 

So what are you waiting for? Get to know your pivot tables from your vlookup!

The phrase ‘brain games’ rose in popularity after NatGeo’s hit show Brain Games. Which kindled our curiosity about human psychology. 

The show demonstrated how deceptive reality can be and how easily fooled we can be by simple tricks. 

However, there’s more to brain games than you might think. Apart from mind pranks, brain games encompass a broad range of active and more sedate games or activities.  

Chess, Backgammon, and Go are the first examples that come to mind. By the third pair of moves in Chess there are already 120 million possible outcomes that await players. And Go gets even trickier. So perplexing in fact, that even Google AI, AlphaGO had trouble evaluating the single best strategies – though has since beaten the world champion.. 

More active alternatives are snooker or darts – as these will have you adding and subtracting points after each turn. 

Believe it or not, they are considered one of the few sports games that actively engage both your body and mind.

Let’s get real for a moment: numbers aren’t a real thing. Or rather, they were made up. 

In fact, in the field of mathematics there’s a dispute whether numbers were invented or discovered. 

Regardless of which side you’re on, numbers remain an intangible fact of life. The process whereby numbers are materialized into the real world is called ‘individuation’. 

Individuation helps us when counting sheep before we doze off or when we measure distances. 

It allows us to attribute a specific value to numbers which makes them appear less arbitrary than originally thought. 

A good way to practice your numeracy is to apply individuation on the daily. Count how many clouds cover the sky, or track how many puddles you unavoidably step in on the way home. 

Get some practice before your internship and convert foreign currencies. Or place repeating patterns you happen to notice into individual sets (e.g. every fifth step in a puddle forms a single set!). 

There are tons of ways to bring simple arithmetic into everyday life. It’s the one part of math we rarely complained about at school, as it was the most valuable to us in everyday life. 

This applies to pretty much whatever skill you’re honing. Be it fiction writing or mathematical equations, writing helps things etch on your mind more easily. 

Among other things, writing comes as a great memory booster too. Writing can improve creativity, keep your mind sharp, and create an outlet for your emotions. 

Now, some of the more expressive qualities may not be as noticeable at first glance. But doing maths by hand in lieu of using a calculator will aid you in mentally visualizing data later on. 

Old-fashioned or not, writing by hand strengthens brain and arm muscles at the same time too. It’s an IQ exercise we can’t leave behind.

The learning doesn’t stop there. 

When you embark on an internship with Beyond Academy you’ll have access to a wide range of online courses and tools. As well as comprehensive CV or resume support. 

What’s more, included in your internship is an immersive skills workshop and a 1-on-1 tailored career coaching session. 

We also offer interview advice and personalized career guidance throughout your internship. To give you the tools you need to excel – not only in your internship program, but beyond! Check out the wide range of internship industries and locations we have on offer!