<p>Math) Very general. You can go into theory and abstract stuff or go into applied and industrial stuff. Lots of oppurtunities for research and grad school. Can become a teacher, actuary, or something in between with just a bachelor's.</p>
<p>Statistics) More concentrated, but still quite general. A lot of applications and not just raw math involved. Usually requires a master's or above in order to advance. Can become a statistician, actuary, or financial analyst.</p>
<p>Math/Statistics) I don't know too much about this. My school's program says this is the choice for people who want more of a statistics base and are considering graduate school over industry.</p>
<p>Any thoughts or comparissons would be appreciated.</p>
<p>I'm a math major. You can do anything after a math major. Law school, med(as long as you do premed with it) and business. I'm going into trading at bulge bracket and possible law school afterwards. Doing math and stat is redundant, you can just tailor your math to focus on probability and stat, studying another subject on the side so as to not shiloh yourself (like literature, economics, politics, bio, etc). Or if you just like stat, do stat with something else. If youre 100% sure you love math and only math, do math/stat and go do your phD in something quantitative like a science or social science. Undergrad majors really dont mean too much, just as long as you enjoy it, challenge yourself, and do well.</p>
<p>If you are considering doing grad school, I'd say take either math or math/stats, as either should give you the kind of rigorous background needed for research (math/stats will possibly give you a head start for graduate research in stats, but you should only take it if you are quite sure you want to stick to statistics, which is a very large field still). </p>
<p>If you want a job right after your undergrad, you can consider the stats only program. I would imagine this program deals more with the applications of statistics and does not see the theory in depth, making you less prepared for grad school should you change your mind. It might look better than an unfocused math major on a resume (in the sense that it reflects a more practical education, but of course that depends on the kind of job you'd go for).</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses guys. I wasn't expecting such good responses.</p>
<p>My goal at this point is to prepare for a career in the actuarial field. In case you don't already know, this means that I have to take a handful of required classes and pass a few exams before I graduate with my bachelor's. Both majors easily cover the required courses, so that isn't an issue. The field doesn't really require any post-undergraduate stuff from what I've read, so graduate school is not in my eye's right now. Plus, I haven't even gotten past Calculus 4 (Differential Equations), so I don't think I've even touched graduate level material yet.</p>
<p>I'm considering what you guys told me but I'm still having a hard time deciding because of some confusion about the Statistics major. I know in Math, you take the Calculus series, some reasoning classes, and then whatever else you like after that. Is Statistics more about experimentation, sampling, actually taking surveys and the like? I have the notion that it's just a highly concentrated area of math that was made into its own major. Sort of like Astrophysics.</p>
<p>Also, do you know if it would be advantageous to minor or get a dual-degree in something like Physics rather than say, Economics? For the reason that it shows problem-solving skills and there might be less people with the degree?</p>
<p>dont major in something cuz it looks good, major cuz you like physics more than econ. they both show problem solving skills. i think you have a wrong idea on statistics, youre gonna take a course in probability theory (proof based), stochastic processes and/or calculus, spectral analysis (and time series analysis), and econometrics (multivariate, panel data, and the like). Statistics is just as greek and theoretical as math. Some programs will even have you do a course in real analysis. If youre school has an actuarial major, do that, they have one at Stern that overlaps almost 80% with the stat major but with courses in life contingincies and math of investments (bond math) etc. I worked as an actuary 2 summers ago (really boring, 40 hours week if you like that sorta thing. im more the 60-80 hour a week type) but you focus on passing the actuarial exams. You should major in stat, math, or actuarial science and then pass as many exams as you can, and have your second major be something you like, whatever that may be. THe more tests you pass, the better the firm youll join and the more money youll make. seriouslly, if you pass 2 exams, youll definitely have an actuarial job paying 55-60k. that really should be your focus.</p>
<p>Thanks again GrouchoMarxist. That was really helpful. As for a minor, the reason I considered economics was that three of the required courses came from the Economics department and I'd only have to take two or three more to get a minor. I actually do like Physics, but getting a minor in that would take five or six more courses.</p>
<p>As for the actuarial major, we don't have one specifically. That's why I'm trying to decide. So when you listed those courses, did you mean that those courses already fall under the Statistics curriculum? If so, then it's probably what I'm looking for.</p>
<p>One last thing, what should I start doing other than preparing for the exams (I think it's still about a year away before I take the first one) in order to get ready for a job in the field? What did you do experience during your summer jobs that made you decide on not being an actuary? What are you doing instead? Thanks!</p>
<p>oh hey, i was posting alot cuz i was bored during studying for finals (and after reading some posts, tired of seeing some of the dumb things people say here), morning to night in the library, etc. so now thats its almost done, im moving on to bigger and better things (drinking, sleeping, goin to some museums, reading books, that sorta thing). glad to see i helped.</p>
<p>the reason i crossed out actuarial is that it bored me. I knew too much math (and other things, politics, macroecon, finance). I do debate and enjoy communicating alot and I also don't like the idea of a 40 hour (35 hour) work week. I would actually prefer a 60-70 hour work week thats intense and interesting and makes use of all the math I know.</p>
<p>Actuarial work, even at deloitte or E&Y, is very slow. The pay is good but it has ceilings, you can look that all up. If youre all about not having to work too much and getting paid well, actuarial is for you. Otherwise I suggest trying to become a quant, an engineer, academic, trader, etc. Besides that, the people are nice, the life is nice, the work is moderatly interesting, just not for me. I experienced a fair amount of responsibility, pricing a product they didnt have a model for as well as very tedious tasks. But yea, not for me.</p>
<p>First of all, good luck on all of your exams.</p>
<p>I totally hear you on the whole career thing. Sometimes no matter how much you get paid or how less you have to work, if you get bored then it doesn't really matter. Like I said, I was in engineering, which is supposd to be a "secure" field, but I didn't get excited about most of the stuff, so I am switching out.</p>
<p>I'm probably going to go for the stats major since I like math, but I don't "love" it in the sense that I want to do proof's and all of the abstract stuff. I have nothing against it, but I don't think that it's for me. Stats offers a chance to apply math to everyday situations (if I'm correct), which is what interests me.</p>
<p>BTW I read some of your other posts and I realized that you are a buff in the NYC banking industry. I just wanted to know briefly if actuarial science and that field are intertwined at all? The pre-actuary major at my school suggets four semesters of econ and one semester of finance, so I'm just curious.</p>