What career possibilities are there with a degree in Mathematics?

This is a great question, one in which I actually questioned my college adviser right before officially changing my major to Mathematics. The answer that she had given to me was, "Anything". Great right? Yes - as it's reassuring that so many doors are open, but no in the sense that it's slightly overwhelming not to have a direct answer of what's next.

Some obvious answers that Mathematics degrees typically enter into is Teaching, Business - Finance or Accounting roles, Actuary work, or Statistical work. The truth is Mathematics is so much more than what people think and realize. Every class that you take is more than numbers or solutions, it's about processing what's in front of you, questioning the task, analyzing what you know and problem solving many potential different scenario's. You become detail oriented, organized, and methodical, while also trying to determine the best course of action for the situation at hand. Mathematics gives you an understanding of figuring out different ways to think and process tasks, which is incredibly beneficial to you as well as many employers.

There is a book called "101 Careers in Mathematics" I suggest you read, which my adviser in college pointed me to read as well. This will give you an idea of the endless possibilities that Mathematics opens the doors to. I would recommend thinking what interests you and what excites you when you think about your career.

Hi Lukas,

There are a lot of options depending on how you want to apply your degree. Whether you are interested in pursuing a mathematics/statistics career versus a finance, science, information systems, etc. type career. I recommend you pair the degree with other areas of interest and talents.

For example, do you love to teach and inspire others? Think about becoming a mathematics teacher/professor. Do you enjoy analyzing data and problem solving? Looking into Risk Management or working as a Statistician. You can mix in animals, sociology, environment, technology, space or more to determine the best course.

Be sure to also consider your personality. Do you prefer to be involved with others everyday and partner on teams? Or to work alone under your own self-direction with limited socialization? Do you like to take charge and lead or work from behind the scenes? These answers will further help determine which role best suits you within a field. Just remember you may need to work up to the ideal career by taking smaller steps/jobs to get there while gaining experience and building your network.

A couple great resources are www.myplan.com/majors/ and www.onetonline.org.

Good luck!

Ash

A great resource to begin to answer your question is the Occupational Outlook Handbook by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is one of my go to resources when I need any type of information about an occupation. Here is the website: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. Type Mathematician into the “search handbook”. It will give you lots of information about the work environments and the job outlook for example. Also there are other links that relate to being a mathematician like the American mathematical society. This is a good place to start and will keep you busy for a while!