<p>I am currently a math major and I have one more year before graduating with a bachelors degree. There aren't many career opportunities for an undergraduate math major other than being a teacher or going to graduate school; which I heard is very challenging and has a lot of pressure in publishing and tenure politics. So, after I obtain my math degree I am going to go back to school and obtain a computer software/programming related degree. My question is, is there any programming/software engineering jobs related to astronomy? For example, building/programming cameras (ccd cameras etc.) for astronomers or programming an optical system. If there is, is it in high demand? And what field of study should I concentrate in: computer engineer, software, computer science, etc?</p>
<p>I don’t think you have done a full enough search of opportunities for math majors - math majors are in demand almost everywhere in business. You shouldn’t write off an entire undergraduate major so quickly, especially before even getting to your final year, when you would go through recruitment.</p>
<p>Chat with career services at your school. They can help set you in the right direction. We can help explain a little better what different careers mean and things you can do to get your foot in the door, but you need to get the basic foundation first.</p>
<p>Well, all the math jobs require accounting, finance or accounting and I don’t have any knowledge in any of those fields. I don’t mind teaching high school math for a couple of years. What other opportunities are there? </p>
<p>And I have talked to my advisor, I just came here to get a more diverse set of information.</p>
<p>The information you have gotten is incomplete, then! Math majors are in demand anywhere there is quantitative data analysis at work. You don’t need finance or accounting skills to get a job utilizing math; you also don’t need programming courses to get a job in tech. Rather than approach job searching through the lens of what you think you are qualified for, try coming at it from the opposite angle: look around for jobs that you might like, look at the responsibilities listed, and determine whether you think you could do it. </p>
<p>Job postings often have desired (or “required”) majors. As a case in point, the two job offers I got when I was searching senior year of college requested a business, computer science or other quantitative degree and a hospitality degree, respectively. I graduated with a political science degree.</p>
<p>The reason I am pushing back like this is that it is a terrible shame to go through a full college program only to discard your degree because of a perception that you won’t be able to get a job due to said degree. If you are actually interested in programming, that is a different story - perhaps a few courses as an undergrad and then a master’s would be good. But if you just want to put yourself in position to find a job, a math degree gets you there.</p>