MATLAB is just a software.

The following is from Baidu Encyclopedia.

MATLAB is a high-tech computing environment released by mathworks Company in the United States, which is mainly oriented to scientific computing, visualization and interactive programming. It integrates many powerful functions such as numerical analysis, matrix calculation, scientific data visualization, modeling and simulation of nonlinear dynamic systems in an easy-to-use window environment, and provides comprehensive solutions for scientific research, engineering design and many scientific fields that need effective numerical calculation, and to a great extent gets rid of the editing mode of traditional non-interactive programming languages (such as C and Fortran), which represents the advanced level of international scientific computing software.

MATLAB, Mathematica and Maple are also called the three major mathematical softwares. It is second to none in numerical calculation in mathematical science and technology application software. Matlab can perform matrix operations, draw functions and data, realize algorithms, create user interfaces, and connect the working interfaces of MATLAB with other programming languages. It is mainly used in engineering calculation, control design, signal processing and communication, image processing, signal detection, financial modeling design and analysis.

If you want to participate in mathematical modeling, you will generally use it. Actually, you can also use LINGO/DO. At best, it is only a tool, not to mention any profound research contents and methods.

You make a model in modeling and use it to solve it. As for its usage, I suggest you look at Wang Zhilin's mastery of MATLAB and scientific calculation.

In foreign countries, students of general science and engineering will use MATLAB. It is both easy and difficult to deal with problems related to mathematics.