<p>I LOVE math. I find it enjoyable solving equations, and could probably sit there for hours upon hours just working on math while listening to some music. Anyways...I figured I would drop a post on the Parent Forum to get some sound advice from the 'wiser' bunch.</p>
<p>I am stumped as to what to study in college. As I said, I love math, so obviously people would say - Math Major. But what does a math major really have to offer? Is it easy to get a job in the business world with solely a math major?</p>
<p>So then I began reading about Physics Major. It sounds like it'd be a very rewarding degree and help you really see the way the world works, but I am afraid as to the careers it has to offer. Do most physics majors just continue on to grad school and enter an engineering field?</p>
<p>So lastly, I look at an engineering degree. Engineering combines the best of both worlds right - math and physics! The problem is, if you recieve a degree in engineering, does that greatly limit you to career options...Do most engineering majors enter into solely the engineering work field (which ive heard offers little advancement - true?), or is there still the possibility to enter the business world (financial advice type stuff preferably) </p>
<p>Additionally, what do you guys think about double majors that include any of these (physics/eng, math/businesstype, etc....ANY double major) - is it very beneficial to do or a total waste of time?</p>
<p>I really just do not know what to do and am just looking for some advice/help.</p>
<p>Thanks much for reading this long post and responding</p>
<p>Are you still in high school? If so, do not limit yourself by committing to an undergraduate engineering program right now.</p>
<p>You don't sound sure what you want. That's fine. Unless you're a sophomore in college right now, you have time to decide. Take lots of classes in different subject areas. Talk to your professors and other adults in fields you may be interested in. Keep an open mind. </p>
<p>If you are in high school, remember that college study of some subjects is much different than high school study of the same subjects. I've found this to be especially true with math.</p>
<p>Anyway, you have time. Once you take classes in different areas, a major will probably become clear to you. Try not to worry about it too much.</p>
<p>senior in highschool....i really am just over stressing the entire situation, but I like to go into things with a goal, so when i attend college next year I want to have an idea of what I want to do.</p>
<p>A piece of advice from a current math major:</p>
<p>If you enjoy arithmetic, you will probably not enjoy a major in (pure) math. </p>
<p>But you may find a major in applied math very fulfilling. Applied math includes statistics, financial mathematics, optimization, numerical analysis - basically all sorts of modeling. In that regard it is very close to physics and engineering and you may end up working in those areas after graduation. Or you could go into the business sector and work for banks and insurance companies. Or you could do economical analyses for the government. Or...</p>
<p>Applied math is ideally supplemented by a major or minor in another field such as physics, engineering, computer science, economics, or finance. Or the other way round: a couple of courses in applied math are a great addition to any other major.</p>
<p>The great thing about an applied math major is its marketability: unlike in some other fields (like physics) you don't need a graduate degree to get a good job.</p>
<p>As a prospective math or physics or engineering major you will probably be taking (multivariable?) calculus, a physics and maybe an intro engineering class your first semester - you still have a lot of time to make up your mind what you actually want to major in.</p>
<p>Stop stressing. You don't have to declare a college major when you are a senior in HS. Get to college, take a variety of classes, then decide. My daughter tells me that almost all her friends who entered college with a "declared" major have since changed their mind to "undecided" after just one semester of classes.</p>
<p>I have many friends who are engineers. Several got graduate degrees. They are all very successful and if they wanted to, moved into management, consulting, business, etc. Engineering does not have to be a dead-end profession.</p>
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[quote]
So lastly, I look at an engineering degree. Engineering combines the best of both worlds right - math and physics! The problem is, if you recieve a degree in engineering, does that greatly limit you to career options...Do most engineering majors enter into solely the engineering work field (which ive heard offers little advancement - true?), or is there still the possibility to enter the business world (financial advice type stuff preferably)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>So many misconceptions in this paragraph. Majoring in an engineering field does not limit your career options - if anything, it expands them, since you're qualified for both technical and non-technical jobs. I keep hearing from people that engineering supposedly offers little advancement, but I don't know where they are getting this from. And if you are an engineering (or science) major from a name school (possibly even from a lesser-known school, but I'm going off of personal experience), the finance people will be fawning all over you.</p>
<p>If you are a math major with an interest in finance, you could be an actuary. As the child of one, it seems to me like a solid profession. You could still get one of the standard finance jobs - they love math and physics majors - or go to law school.</p>
<p>I agree with b@r!um about theoretical vs. applied math. You may not favor theoretical if your true love is solving equations.</p>
<p>thanks very much for all your valuable input - reading all these helped reassure me that whatever i do chose, there is a great future with many options that lies ahead of each one. </p>
<p>Does dual-majoring (in something like math/eng or phys/eng or even math/phys) help you greatly market yourself for jobs and grad school, or is it better to just stick with a single major/minor type thing?</p>
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[quote]
Does dual-majoring (in something like math/eng or phys/eng or even math/phys) help you greatly market yourself for jobs and grad school, or is it better to just stick with a single major/minor type thing?
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</p>
<p>It can be helpful, and if you really like both majors it can be rewarding, but it's not essential.</p>
<p>Besides physics or engineering, two other fields where you could exploit your taste for math are computer science and economics. </p>
<p>Double-majoring is not necessary and may limit your options and electives. Another possibility is to major in one field while taking a substantial number of elective courses in another (or an actual minor, if your college offers minors). You could do this with math as your major or with the other field as your major. For example, some people major in math but take several economics courses as electives. Or they may major in computer science but take several additional math courses beyond the minimum required for the computer science major.</p>
<p>Full disclosure: One of my kids is a computer science major; the other is an economics major. I think they're both pretty good majors for math-oriented kids who may not want to devote their lives to the extreme abstraction of pure math (even more full disclosure: my husband has a PhD in pure math).</p>
<p>
[quote]
So then I began reading about Physics Major. It sounds like it'd be a very rewarding degree and help you really see the way the world works, but I am afraid as to the careers it has to offer. Do most physics majors just continue on to grad school and enter an engineering field?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The Society of Physics Students has a website discussing different ways to use a physics degree: Careers</a> Using Physics. While some undergrad physics majors go to grad school in engineering, it's more likely that they'll go to grad school in Physics. Or Astronomy. Or venture further afield: biophysics, economics, law school (think patent attorney), teaching, science writing, running statistical models for just about any industry you can think of, etc etc etc. </p>
<p>I know at least two math PhD's who moved off of the academic track and now earn a living flying interplanetary spacecraft. Another who worked as a system engineer for awhile, then went to get an MBA. </p>
<p>As others have said, no need to decide on a major now. Loving math, and being good at it, you have many, many options.</p>
<p>Take a look at Statistics, especially Biostatistics. It's a great career for the math-minded. I hire biostatisticians in my department (biotech R&D) and we can never find enough. Jobs go begging for a long time.</p>
<p>The poster DOES have to decide on engineering as a major before he applies. At some schools, the engineering program is pretty rigid and you have to start on certain classes right away. Also, you have to apply to the School of Engineering at most schools instead of the School of Arts and Sciences. My advice is that if you think you might want engineering then apply as a engineering major. It's much easier to switch to A&S later if you want. Engineering is a very hard major at every school and will not limit your career choices in any way.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for all this advice....and so you know I did already go ahead and applied as an engineering major and got in the engineering colleges at michigan and uiuc..awaiting gatech, just so I can ensure that if i do go into engineering im already in the school - i heard transfering into is much harder than out of colleges of eng.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any thoughts about Aerospace Engineering vs. Mechanical. Does majoring in Aero limit you greatly in job oppurtunities as opposed to a Mech?</p>
<p>You mentioned business math earlier.. have you ever looked into Economics? I'm a math person as well, and I've found Econ to be an interesting new way of using math.</p>
<p>"So many misconceptions in this paragraph. Majoring in an engineering field does not limit your career options - if anything, it expands them, since you're qualified for both technical and non-technical jobs. I keep hearing from people that engineering supposedly offers little advancement, but I don't know where they are getting this from. And if you are an engineering (or science) major from a name school (possibly even from a lesser-known school, but I'm going off of personal experience), the finance people will be fawning all over you."</p>
<p>Do certain engineering majors help you with job offers in finance-related fields over others?</p>
<p>As for economics.....studying anything financial-related jsut seems like it would be boring and simple (though im sure it probably isnt), but i really should give it a chance. I took an economics class in highschool, and it just seemed extremely boring, but a job that utilized it would probably be interesting. Is economics in college much different from that in H.S.? When I think of accounting, economics, etc., I just wonder how complex it could actually get....i just envision alot of basic, repetitive arithmetic.</p>
<p>so if i wanted to double major in finance/math, what "math major" would best complement my finance major? applied mathematics or pure math or statistics??</p>