jobs for math majors

Parents Forum
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<p>Hello, I am currently a junior majoring in math at a top 10 school. I did math research last summer and realized I did not want to go to grad school for pure math, because there's not enough structure and I wouldn't be able to discipline myself to think about the problem. I'm not sure what to do instead of that, though.</p>

<p>I was thinking about going to grad school in applied math, but I'm not sure what that would entail. Some people tell me I'd basically be doing the same thing as I would in pure math, except I'd be proving theorems in analysis and statistics. But some people say if I did applied math I'd actually be applying my math background to other fields of science. That sounds kind of fun, but I'm not sure who to believe.</p>

<p>I was also thinking about going to grad school in a different field. It would probably be biology because I've already coauthored four papers in biology and psychology (computational work and mathematical modeling). But I've only taken one biology class and I'm already a junior. Also, I'm behind on my major requirements and would rather take applied math and CS classes than biology classes because I like them better.</p>

<p>I was also thinking about getting a job out of college, or getting a master's degree (in CS? or maybe math? that's a whole new kettle of fish) and then getting a job. I would probably want to do something that involves math, but is not as frustrating and lonely as math research. I don't know what kind of jobs are like that, though. My friend suggested operations research, which I know nothing about beyond "it has something to do with optimization." Also, I was thinking about going into finance, but I think my dad would kill me and then himself.</p>

<p>Any ideas?</p>

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<p>A math major we know was in your same shoes…he found that teaching didn’t interest him, engineering was a no go, and grad school didn’t appeal to him. He became an actuary and is happy with his job.</p>

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<p>You may want to take a few courses in areas of application like statistics, computer science, and economics before you graduate. Applied math majors often have pretty good job and career prospects – generally much better than biology majors.</p>

<p><a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/AppMath.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/AppMath.stm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“https://www.careers.calpoly.edu/search.php?yr=2009%20-%202010[/url]”>https://www.careers.calpoly.edu/search.php?yr=2009%20-%202010&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>[Virginia</a> Tech Post-Graduation Report: Plans or status after graduation](<a href=“http://www.career.vt.edu/scripts/PostGrad2006/Report/DetailStatus.asp?College=00&Majors=Y&Cohort=2009-2010]Virginia”>http://www.career.vt.edu/scripts/PostGrad2006/Report/DetailStatus.asp?College=00&Majors=Y&Cohort=2009-2010)
[Virginia</a> Tech Post-Graduation Report: Salaries reported](<a href=“http://www.career.vt.edu/scripts/PostGrad2006/Report/DetailReportSalaries.asp?College=00&Majors=Y&Cohort=2009-2010]Virginia”>http://www.career.vt.edu/scripts/PostGrad2006/Report/DetailReportSalaries.asp?College=00&Majors=Y&Cohort=2009-2010)</p>

<p>If an actuarial job is under consideration, take a look here: <a href=“Study Methods and Suggestions for taking multiple choice exams – Be An Actuary”>Study Methods and Suggestions for taking multiple choice exams – Be An Actuary;

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<p>Wall street my friend. Get a piece while the people are still accepting the banksters’ excuses.</p>

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<p>Or get in while people still take out loans they can’t repay and buy things they can’t afford</p>

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<p>The NSA hires math graduates.</p>

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<p>Actuary, cost estimating, statistics, pretty much any company uses math in one form or another.</p>

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<p>Your school’s math dept should have listings of jobs for students with math degrees (I know UW-Madison does, but they’re “only” around top 15 for math grad school). Son chose to wait with math grad school (long story, but he’s young, still 21)- he also completed a comp sci major along with some grad level math courses as an undergrad and got a job as a software developer (the company was looking for many related majors, not just comp sci). Talk to your math advisor and check in with your department. UW’s Math Department has a lot of info on their website that is open to the public- other schools must as well. Math can be a passion but adding courses for more job opportunities could be helpful. Do plan on the GRE and math GRE before you graduate while you are at your best.</p>

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<p>S1 is a math major (senior) who has a very strong programming background. Got a permanent job offer last week, and has had four more invites for interviews. Has always talked about a PhD in CS, but is now thinking he will work for a couple of years with some top-notch folks, get some real life experience and then make a decision. May pick up a MS in CS while he’s working, too.</p>

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<p>You can take actuarial exams during undergrad, in fact, it’s encouraged, as the early ones are pure math & stats. It’s an interesting career path - lots of demand at insurance companies (they will pay you to study for the exams!) and HR consultants. Yes, there are some in Wall Street, but not too many. </p>

<p>[Exam</a> FAQs | Be an Actuary](<a href=“http://www.beanactuary.org/exams/?fa=exam-faqs]Exam”>http://www.beanactuary.org/exams/?fa=exam-faqs)</p>

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<p>For some reason, people have weird ideas about applied math, but applied math is just math, except the problems you work on have intended applications. So these include things like differential equations, probability, numerical methods, theoretical computer science, combinatorics, and much more. The nature of the research is still the same though, and I would think that applied math would be even less structured than a pure math program, since the different branches are much less related to each other than the branches of pure math. But it could also be that you might find some subject in applied math more interesting than anything in pure math, in which case this might be a good path to follow. </p>

<p>I think the biology you mentioned would be more suited for a graduate program in applied math, or computer science, than just a pure biology program, but I could be wrong here.</p>

<p>Operations research is just another branch of applied math that’s also related to computer science and business. People are probably suggesting it to you because it’s the new trendy subfield (I’ve gotten the same suggestions).</p>

<p>I think the other suggestions are good, and cover most of the heavily quantitative careers, except for the NSA since my impression is that they also do math research, or at least something fairly close. I could be wrong about this too.</p>

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<p>Go to Wall Street, make a bundle, and pay your parents back for your college education.</p>

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<p>Had a friend in college who majored in math then applied to grad schools in math, physics and econ figuring he’d decide which field depending on where he got in. Ended up in Econ and is today a mucky muck working for the Fed Reserve.</p>

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<p>Get your PhD in finance or operations and logistics. Four years later, you’ll have a choice of tenure-track faculty positions, and a salary that isn’t Wall Street but still puts in the top 1% after a short while. Add in a flexible work schedule, tons of autonomy and flexibility, tremendous variety and not at all lonely. Get tenure after 7 years and you have lifetime job security too.</p>

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<p>Since you seem to have some interest in computer science, it might be a good idea to see if you can fill the requirements for a double major in math/CS without adding any extra semesters at the undergrad level. My son discovered early on that it was very easy to add a second major in math to his CS program since he started with a very good math background and was taking additional math as electives anyway. That doesn’t mean it would work out at your school, though; you need to talk to a counselor and read the requirements carefully. For the record, son had a very good job offer before he began his senior year, in the epicenter of the software world. I have read some of what he has written for his job, and for publications during undergrad years, and despite his title of 'software engineer", his work is heavy on statistics and math. </p>

<p>I have always thought economics was a good second major for talented math students. It is certainly possible to get a degree in econ without superior math talents, but students who combine math and econ command a lot of attention and have broader job prospects. (So say the many econ professors I know well.) Those who go on for a PhD in econ (either immediately or after a couple of years) have a lot of job options, spanning governments, think tanks, the Fed, World Bank/IMF, and even academia. Yes, universities are still hiring tenure track econ professors (with degrees from good programs).</p>

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<p>It really depends on the person. Some applied mathematicians do very theoretical stuff, developing and improving existing mathematical techniques. Others do a lot of work applying and adapting existing methods to specific problems.</p>

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<p>Is it really not that competitive? People make the academic job market in Math (and other areas) seem way worse.</p>

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<p>I don’t know much about the other aspeces in math. But I was a SAS programmer/consultant and statistics is being used almost in every company. You should have no problem to find a job in statistics. Wall Street, Banks, Pharmaceuticals… Those are the companies used my service. I was called in for an APL interview and found out that there is a large group of APL programmers in Morgan Stanly and they pay extremely well with huge bonuses. APL is all math related programming.</p>

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<p>My daughter went into Comp Sci after soph year, her dept offered a math/CS degree and she was invited to both dept graduations, though it is considered a single degree and not double major there. She was a little too late, likely, to do the straight CS program. They also have an applied math/CS, and I don’t know the difference, honestly. She was able to do this because of having a lot of math from an early physics related program of study. She leaned toward the Theory side, but did do some more practical projects (cryptography) that were based on zero knowledge proofs if that means anything to you. I just mention because this kind of thing may be up your alley.</p>

<p>But I don’t see how you could be accepted to CS grad school having missed so many fundamental CS courses, without some post-bac courses.</p>

<p>Does your school offer a degree in computational biology? Hers does in CS as well. That may be hot right now. It is in the CS dept so more CS applies than bio. Is it possible to change now to that or a math/CS? I think it is wise of you to do that math work and realize it is not for you. It certainly isn’t for everyone and it is a hard road to get funded program and academic work.</p>

<p>In any case, it sounds like you will be pretty well positioned for a CS job from the work you have already done. You can keep adding to that sort of work for your CV if you stick to the same major. Google hires based on the person, not just for any particular job, once they want you, they will look around to see where you fit in. Look to see if you can get an internship, they pay well and they like top flight schools, as they used to say.</p>

<p>Also go to any on campus recruiting that is left in consulting or ibanking. Your experience in modeling will be valuable.</p>

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<p>What do you like best about math? Unless you want to teach, you need to consider how you want to approach the job market. </p>

<p>I started out as a Math major (1 semester!), then switched to Civil Engineering (another semester), then Management (what they called Business in my 1st college), then became Accounting major. While I was working, I pursued my MBA in Finance at night. Now working as Investment professional.</p>

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<p>Think of yourself as really lucky! You still have some time/wiggle room to explore and math is one of those degrees that proves you are smart and can apply yourself, and can take you into all sorts of directions.</p>

<p>This is the moment to stretch yourself to find out what you love, and to match your intellectual talents to your personality, your drive, your interests, your passions, possibly the economy, and the options.</p>

<p>I was EXACTLY where you are once! A math major deciding not to be a pure mathematician, as I always wanted to be. Other people pushed me into what “they” thought I would fit – and those ideas are fine and should be appreciated – but you can also go beyond them. </p>

<p>What math classes do you LIKE best? (eg my HS son loved calculus, and is now taking a college Linear Algebra course and finds it boring. I liked analysis in theory, but it made me crazy and I was bad at it, but I had a lot of fun with combinatorics and group theory.)</p>

<p>Also, try this exercise my roommate back in the day made me do: imagine what you would do for a living if salary, status, education, location were not an option. Be 4 years old again! What really makes your heart flutter! My secret fantasy at that time (I still have it) was to be an airplane pilot. So she made me explore every route to doing so. Could I transfer to any major that led to that? Could I enlist in a service (back then the Navy was the only way a woman could become a pilot?) I figured out where to take flying lessons, but alas, no public transportation there – and I didn’t know how to drive.</p>

<p>It was very liberating… and while that was going on, it loosened up my “I must, I should…” preconceptions. We also talked about what I wanted to do with my life in a big theme way “help people” – ok, you can do that with your day to day work, or outside work. And what should my work day look like to bring out my best work? Well, I had realized I could not do my best work as a mathematician precisely because I could not be solitary for many, many, many long hours of intense intellectual work.</p>

<p>Think these things through , and whatever makes sense to you, on your own, and talk them over with others. Talk to your math professors and your department about options. Do some wild Googling. If you have to, take some time before you invest in graduate school. I had a job lined up doing technical writing with Honeywell during the temporary time I was thinking of a PhD in Poetics (please do not laugh!)</p>

<p>At the last minute I threw my hat into the law school admissions game, having never ever met a lawyer – but back then it seemed to fit my helps others, intellectually challenging, sometimes solitary sometimes interactive, I’d get to wear something other than jeans, I could support myself, I could integrate math/science criteria.</p>

<p>I’m not doing the kind of law I thought I would do (environmental or occupational health and safety or medical ethics), but I love what I do and I KNOW that my math degree has helped get me to the top of my field (civil rights)-- it makes applications stand out for one – but it trained me to think creatively, look at the essence of arguments, find the errors in bad logic, be intellectually honest and original, and I can work with proving up a case with data and stats while it scares many others to death!</p>

<p>So not so much about me, I am but one single example, it is just to show one person’s outcome. There is a wonderful path for you… and it might be very, very, very math related…actually doing math every day in a setting you just hadn’t anticipated, or it might be using your well trained “math” mind in a completely different field.</p>

<p>Feel free to pm me, but I don’t always check every day.</p>