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Someone wrote:

"Please give a step by step plan for someone wishing to pursue a career in applied category theory."

Someone replied:

"Okay, here is a step-by-step plan for someone wishing to pursue a career in Applied Category Theory (ACT). This field is relatively niche and often interdisciplinary, so the path requires both strong theoretical foundations and a focus on practical application domains.

Phase 1: Foundational Knowledge (Undergraduate Level & Early Grad School/Self-Study)

Step 1: Master Core Mathematics:

Calculus & Linear Algebra: Essential building blocks for almost all quantitative fields. Ensure a deep, conceptual understanding.

Discrete Mathematics: Crucial for logic, proofs, graph theory, combinatorics – many areas where ACT finds application.

Abstract Algebra: Groups, rings, fields, modules. Understanding algebraic structures is fundamental before generalizing with categories. Homomorphisms are precursors to functors.

Set Theory & Mathematical Logic: Understand the foundations upon which mathematics, including category theory, is built. Formal proofs are essential.

(Optional but Recommended) Point-Set Topology: Introduces concepts like continuity and open sets in an abstract way, which have categorical analogues (e.g., limits, colimits).

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