How often have you needed a TI-84 or similar scientific calculator post-grade school or college?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 11:52:18 -0400

https://education.ti.com/en/us/products/calculators/graphing-calculators/ti-84-plus/tabs/overview

TI-84 Plus - Encourage students to engage in math and science by Texas Instruments - US and...

overview

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jul 7 at 2016 12:57 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 12:57:42 -0400

Don't need one to work on an old tractor.

Response by Col Joseph Lenertz made Jul 7 at 2016 1:27 PM

Col Joseph Lenertz — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 13:27:05 -0400

Normally only for engineers once you're done with school. I use mine occasionally, and take crap for it from my kids.

Response by TSgt Alex Benningfield made Jul 7 at 2016 1:29 PM

TSgt Alex Benningfield — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 13:29:10 -0400

I do, but to be fair my degree is a MBA in finance. But for my other degrees...never

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Jul 7 at 2016 2:38 PM

SrA Edward Vong — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 14:38:06 -0400

Never for me. I'm too smart for calculators. *chuckle*

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 7 at 2016 2:40 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 14:40:21 -0400

Would depend on your area of focus/degree plan. Some people haven't picked up a calculator since high school or their associate degree.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 7 at 2016 2:40 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 14:40:37 -0400

LOL I bought a basic calculate that could add, subtract, multiply, and divide for $69. Today they give them away if they can get anyone to take one.

Response by SGT Elvis M. made Jul 7 at 2016 3:22 PM

SGT Elvis M. — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:22:08 -0400

I might have used one a few times to plot slopes or line gradients but it wasnt like i would fail the course if i didnt have it. It was just nice to have. I use my scientific calculator more lately for stats, aerodynamics, physics courses I'm currently taking. It really depends on what your studying. I study Aeronautics and a standard scientific calculator has the functions i need like log, sin, cos, tan in deg, rad etc...

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 7 at 2016 3:24 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:24:38 -0400

The first calculator I ever saw was on the desk of a management analyst. It took up about 1/2 of the desk.

Before (and after) I bought the calculator I used a slide rule for everything.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Jul 7 at 2016 3:39 PM

SN Greg Wright — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:39:00 -0400

In this day, when you carry more computing power in your pocket than put men on the moon? Never.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jul 7 at 2016 4:42 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:42:18 -0400

For me, we're talking post BS in Civil Engineering and I had the original scientific calculator; the HP-35. My Dad got it for me from his "Jewish Connection" for 1/2 price which was still $200 in my junior year. Quite a change from using a side rule (slip stick). It had the functions engineers used to calculate loads, stresses, pressures, ... you name it. It served me well during 3 deployments to Antarctica where I was doing ice strength calculations along with more simple functions for explosives work. I used it in '81 to take my PE exam, which at the time was a two day affair as, besides Civil, I had to do Seismic and Surveying elements. Funny thing, the display died just after I did the final check on my final answer for that exam. My wife was more than bemused as I conducted a funeral service and buried it in the back yard. Today's much cheaper and powerful units have the entire programming so you just have to enter the up front parameters and it spits out the answers. I still use a HP-11C for occasional calcs. I believe that's a long discontinued one as well.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 7 at 2016 6:13 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 18:13:50 -0400

I really haven't...even going through a stats class. I'd rather work out the graphing in Excel and learn how to do it there because I know if I ever need to do a graph I'll have a computer (and if I don't, well they just won't get a nice looking graph).

Response by LTC Paul Labrador made Jul 7 at 2016 6:33 PM

LTC Paul Labrador — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 18:33:57 -0400

Never....

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 7 at 2016 8:27 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 20:27:54 -0400

Took college-level math courses in high school, went on to take calc in college. Seven years later, my TI is a $200+ brick somewhere in my closet.

Response by PO1 Tony Holland made Jul 8 at 2016 3:14 AM

PO1 Tony Holland — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 03:14:18 -0400

I still have the Pickett magnesium slide rule I used at Nuclear Power School in 1968. After leaving the service and enrolling at Marshall University I switched to a HP-35 financial calculator, later upgraded it to a HP-12C which I still use. Additionally, I frequently use an
HP-12 calculator app on my iPhone.

Response by PFC David Johnston made Jul 8 at 2016 10:55 AM

PFC David Johnston — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 10:55:20 -0400

I still have my TI-89 from high school, but any serious mathematics are done via computer software (Maple, MATLAB, Mathematica, R, Excel, etc.). I'm finishing my B.S. in Applied Mathematics and I don't remember the last time I used my calculator for school.

Response by CPL(P) Nathaniel Burke made Jul 14 at 2016 11:07 AM

CPL(P) Nathaniel Burke — Thu, 14 Jul 2016 11:07:48 -0400

So, disclaimer: I am an Applied Economist and specialize in Econometrics branded Statistics. I usually use a graphing calculator for quicker on the fly calculations when I do not want to generate a dataset and plug through R or Stata coding. Most of my data analysis is done with a computer, though. I would say it is HEAVILY dependent on the field you are going into and at what level. I am at the Master's level currently and work a lot in research and teaching undergraduates. So, pick your poison, but I would not say they are obsolete post-university.