<p>My son will be second semester sophomore, and he has all but 2 of the requirements for his (probably applied) math major. Problem is, he took very hard classes right off the bat, and has a "low" 3.X GPA. (I tried to tell him to focus on grades, but he's always been more about learning and less about grades).
I think with that GPA in his major it will be very hard for him to get accepted to a grad program. Is that correct? I've heard it's very hard to get jobs with a bachelors in math, but if he does applied math it might be a little easier. My advice has been to take several computer science classes (hopefully double major, but I don't want today for extra semesters).
At 19 I can barely get my son to think about summer employment... He's not one of those that has his career planned out. Any other advice I should be giving him, if/when I can get his attention?</p>
<p>Common applied math major job directions are in computers and finance/actuarial work.</p>
<p>So if those interest him, courses in computer science, statistics, economics, and finance would be worth taking (for actuarial goals, see [Be</a> an Actuary](<a href=“http://www.beanactuary.org%5DBe”>http://www.beanactuary.org) ).</p>
<p>With respect to PhD programs, he may want to ask his major advisor about the likelihood of admission to a worthwhile PhD program, if he is interested in that. And if he wants to go for that, undergraduate research (and perhaps some graduate level math courses) would be indicated.</p>
<p>My math major sister has been very successful in business, starting with an oil company and now with a bank. I think she was a general math major, not applied. She has done project management and is now a senior VP. She just got her MBA at age 59.</p>
<p>I agree with the suggestion of undergraduate research, or is his school located somewhere he can do internships during the school year? Summer employment can also be a valuable experience.</p>
<p>My daughter is joint majoring in econ and math - her school has a special dual degree program. Years ago I joint majored in math and computer science - again under a special dual degree program. Both are good pairings with math.</p>
<p>If he is really interested in pursuing math at the graduate level he should look into the NSF’s math REUs. (My math grad student passed on more lucrative summer internships to do an REU each summer when he was an undergrad.)
[nsf.gov</a> - REU Sites - US National Science Foundation (NSF)](<a href=“Search Results for REU Sites | NSF - National Science Foundation”>REU Sites | NSF - National Science Foundation)
I don’t recall what the timeline is for applying but I would guess that it is time to be looking.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about GPA. Honestly. </p>
<p>If he is good in math, it would be very easy for him to get into grad school. Even if his GPA is not perfect.</p>
<p>My daughter had a math-cs major (not applied math, which was also offered) and went to grad school in theoretical computer science (math). I don’t know her gpa, but what made her strong for grad school was her research. Also had taken a couple of grad classes. Did a semester abroad in a math-intensive program where you can take advanced topics. </p>
<p>A CS minor (or econ as suggested) would be complementary, and seems like he has room for it, but he may not have trouble without it. The Georgetown study based on 2009 and 2010 data concludes</p>
<p>“Engineering majors lead in earnings for recent and experienced college graduates followed by Computer and Mathematics majors, and Business majors.”</p>
<p>And the rate of unemployment for recent math grads is 6.1% compared to 8.9% overall. That is better than the CS rate but the average salary is 10k lower.</p>
<ol>
<li>It’s not hard to get jobs with a bachelor’s degree in math. Everyone wants people with mathematical/technical skills now, and if he’s just a sophomore, he’s got plenty of time. He can get an internship for some experience; have him take some classes in stats & prob, business, and/or computer programming. He can do entry-level finance, operations research, actuarial work or statistics. It doesn’t matter if his piece of paper says “math” or “applied math”; what matters is what he knows how to do and what classes he takes. (At our university, the math major actually has more flexibility than the applied math major.)</li>
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<p>2) This question is impossible to answer because it’s unclear what 3.x means. It could be 3.1, 3.3 or 3.5, especially with the “low” in quotation majors. It also depends on what the grad program is - are we talking MIT PhD or Hunter College MA in applied math?</p>
<p>Besides, if he is just a second semester sophomore, he’s got 3 more semesters to raise his GPA.</p>
<p>Since your son is a sophomore, I’d be encouraging a summer internship, rather than thinking grad school or future job.</p>
<p>I think internships expose kids to what it is like to work in certain environments. My son kept shifting his interests based on feelings about the internships.</p>
<p>If your son wants to go to a PhD program in math, he should take some graduate classes in his junior and senior year. Get good grades in those classes and his GPA in his first year won’t matter much. He will also have to study for and do very well on the Math GRE. An REU or summer research would be very helpful, though REUs aren’t necessarily easy to get in to.</p>
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You’ve heard wrong. Math is an excellent major than can be applied across a very broad spectrum of businesses. My D has a math degree and is doing modeling and simulation of radar systems.</p>
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Good for him.</p>
<p>What would grad school be for, for this student? What would this student think of doing after grad school?</p>
<p>Probably an obvious choice, but my daughter graduated with a math major in 2012, then got a teaching credential and Masters in Teaching in 2013 and is a high school math teacher. The math teachers in her credential program all got jobs fairly easily. Especially the ones with undergraduate math degrees. The Social Science teachers had a much more difficult time.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone, you are making me feel better. I’ve suggested many of the things I’ve read to him already. I hadn’t thought about taking master’s classes and if he gets good grades in those they might overlook his low GPA. I know his overall GPA is slightly over 3.2, but I think his math classes may be slightly lower. He’s generally not lazy when it comes to school, but he hasn’t yet “found his passion.” He doesn’t know yet whether he wants to go on to get a PhD or go into the working world. I’m really encouraging him to get research experience, but I’m not sure he’s listening.</p>
<p>It’s going to be very difficult for him to “get research experience” with a lower GPA. He might be better off looking for internships during the summers to get some real world experience.</p>
<p>A sophomore who is majoring in math who isn’t turned on enough by math to know he wants a PhD in it, in my mind, is not a candidate for a doctorate. I’m not making a value judgement… just an observation. If he’s not living and breathing math then this is a good sign that his skills could be put to better use than becoming an academic where he would live and breathe math. </p>
<p>There are SO MANY jobs requiring strong quant skills. This seems like a no-brainer. He needs to get himself over to the career development office and sit down with a professional who can show him the dozens of things a kid like him can do with his life.</p>
<p>1214mom ,</p>
<p>Ph.D. is math is very straightforward. The student either has brains to do it, or he doesn’t. If he can solve complex math problems, at the high level, on his own … any Ph.D. program will take him, regardless of GPA. If he can’t, GPA won’t help.</p>
<p>At senior level he is expected to have his own research topics … and have some achievements.</p>
<p>"It’s going to be very difficult for him to “get research experience” with a lower GPA. "</p>
<p>Not in math. He can do it on his own, mathematicians don’t need expensive equipment for research.</p>
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<p>Bit of an exaggeration.</p>