What Kind of Job Can a Math Major Get?
Mathematicians don't just work in the classroom; they work in all areas of industry. From government to biology, Wall Street to Hollywood, there's not an area of modern life that can do without projections, calculations and analysis. Mathematicians work in four major areas: education, business, finance and the marketplace. A 2009 CNN list of the top 15 most lucrative college degrees reveals that all require math skills, including actuarial science.
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History
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Mathematicians have been an integral part of our culture for as long as society has existed. Math is the underpinning of every technical and scientific enterprise; math is to engineering and science as bones are to the human body. Without math, there would be no Great Pyramids, no Great Wall of China and no Hoover Dam.
Teaching
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Mathematicians work as teachers in a variety of educational settings, from kindergarten to graduate studies. Job duties include lesson planning, curriculum design, classroom lectures and grading for a variety of math classes. At the elementary level, classes include basic math, algebra and geometry. More advanced classes include statistics, calculus, number theory and complex analysis.
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Business Operations
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Actuaries manage and analyze risk for insurance companies, governments and consulting firms. Operations analysts analyze operations, generate complex reports, suggest procedural changes and identify ways to improve overall business operations. In the aforementioned CNN list of the top 15 "Most Lucrative College Majors," actuarial science came in at number 11.
Financial Fields
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Mathematicians who work in financial fields generate marketing and research reports and analyze financial data. Financial analysts work with bankruptcy coverage, income, leverage, liquidity, long-term analysis, profitability and working capital.
Marketplace Mathematics
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Purchasing agents shop for a living. Purchasing managers typically have a higher level of responsibility than purchasing agents and may be responsible for more complex purchases, such as new technology. They use their knowledge of supply and demand to purchase wholesale or retail goods and raw materials for companies. Sales reps use the same principles to sell the goods at the highest profit for their employer.
Salary
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A mathematician can expect to earn about the same salary as similar industry occupations such as scientist or engineer. According to payscale.com, mathematicians in education can expect to earn slightly less than their science and industry peers.
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