I’m finishing up my first year in EE at a UC and I hate it so much. I’m taking my first circuits class this quarter and I just can’t see myself doing too well in the program, or doing a senior project, or even working a job in the EE industry. I’m interested in mathematics, but I’m a bit reluctant to switch to it because the job opportunities are greater in engineering. Also, I’m not so much interested in any sort of applied mathematics… just pure mathematics so the only source of employment that I can attain in pure mathematics is something in academia I suppose. I want to get a minor in comp sci so if I can’t get into academia, then I have some industry knowledge to go into software. Are there any sources of employment for pure mathematicians other that academia… preferably with someone with a bachelors degree…
Some of the more usual destinations for math majors other than “generic bachelor’s degree” destinations include:
- Research and/or college teaching in math. Need PhD.
- High school teaching math. Need teaching credential.
- Computing. Take some CS courses as electives. Math skills can be additionally helpful in subareas like cryptography, numerical computing, etc..
- Finance/actuarial. Take some statistics, finance, economics courses as electives.
- Big data. Take some statistics and courses in other subjects of interest (where big data is applied) as electives.
If you hate Engineering, get out now. Do you like CS? If you want employability, and don’t hate CS - try double majoring in CS and Math.