Possible Major Ideas Needed?

College Search & Selection
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<p>So Junior year ended much much faster that I ever thought possible leaving me having to think seriously about my future soon. I'm undecided about most of it, so i'm reaching out for help. Can you identify majors and maybe schools that match my interests? </p>

<p>Math as a whole is one of my passions, and I love actively learning and applying it. However, I know that I just don't have the skill-sets needed for teaching. That's definitely out (my mom's a teacher, and I don't want to follow). </p>

<p>I love science, but labs aren't my favorite thing. That's why i'm worried I would be miserable in engineering. Correct me if i'm wrong. </p>

<p>My EC's range between</p>

<p>Debate/Mock Trial/History</p>

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<p>So why not math or stats?</p>

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<p>Why not theoretical physics/astrophysics? It is the science with the most maths involved and the least lab work. :)</p>

4

<p>Google “geographic information systems” and see if it appeals to you.</p>

5

<p>computational biology, bioinformatics, applied math…
Also, get a good career book and browse through it. You will bump into things you didn’t know about or haven’t thought of. I like this one because it tries to match you up to some career areas based on your personality “10 Best Majors for Your Personality”.
[10</a> Best College Majors for Your Personality: Laurence Shatkin: 9781593578633: Amazon.com: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Best-College-Majors-Your-Personality/dp/1593578636]10”>http://www.amazon.com/Best-College-Majors-Your-Personality/dp/1593578636)</p>

6

<p>Actuary? maybe</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the input guys. What kind of profession could I go into with a math/stats/theoretical physics degree?</p>

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<p>Pretty much anything. My D (math major) is now doing modeling and simulation of radars (her suite mate is a Physics major). She applied to do economic modeling with the Army Corp of Engineers. Risk modeling, forecasting, cost estimating…</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Typical math major destinations:</p>

<ul>
<li>Mathematician (PhD, research, postsecondary teaching)</li>
<li>Economist (add some economics and statistics courses, PhD in economics, economic policy advising for businesses and governments, research, postsecondary teaching)</li>
<li>High school math teacher (teaching credential)</li>
<li>Finance</li>
<li>Actuary (add statistics, economics, finance courses; see [Be</a> an Actuary](<a href=“http://www.beanactuary.com%5DBe”>http://www.beanactuary.com) )</li>
<li>Computer software (add computer science courses)</li>
</ul>

<p>See the <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/15518814-post51.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/15518814-post51.html&lt;/a&gt; for more ideas. Some list specific job titles and employers. For example:</p>

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

<p>And statistics:</p>

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

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<p>Statistics is extremely important in areas where safety is paramount. There are statisticians in flight safety groups in aerospace companies who calculate risk of parts failing in aircraft. So you can use the applied mathematics in many ways.</p>

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<p>Math and Stat</p>

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<p>You do know that there are a lot…a lot…a LOT of things you can do with a math degree besides teach?</p>

<p>I would definitely recommend a math or stats major. In addition to some of the stuff mentioned, you could also go into finance/banking, operations research, market research analysis. EVERYONE is hiring statisticians these days - from big corporate businesses to government agencies to NGOs to nonprofts - to crunch their data. As a statistician or mathematician, you could work at a tech firm like Google or Apple; you could work for a hospital crunching numbers about infection control; you could work for a university medical center helping do biomedical research; you could help a business determine whether a new intervention increases productivity.</p>

<p>Actuaries consistently come in ranked s one of the top 5 jobs in terms of work environment, salary, and stress levels. Actuaries use mathematical and statistical models to predict risk; as such, they work for insurance companies to help set premiums, but also for businesses to estimate the amount of risk they have for various events. Actuaries earn a median salary of $87,000 a year. (I actually wanted to do this in high school, but a pair of teachers talked me out of it and I still resent their advice, lol.) Top actuaries can move into management and make a whole lot more.</p>

<p>Mathematicians make a median salary of $99,000 (median! That means half of them make more than that!) and economists earn a median of $89,000. Operations research analysts earn a median of about $70,000. The median for statisticians is $72,000.</p>

<p>If you like computers, bioinformatics is also a new field with lots of potential. There’s also software engineering, which is booming now. The median for software engineering is around $99,000.</p>