Should I be worried about getting a job after I graduate with a math degree?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by linuxguy1010, Oct 20, 2013.

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  1. linuxguy1010

    linuxguy1010 New Member

    I just want to support my wife and my son and also future kids with a good job. Hopefully starting at $15 an hour and above. I just want to point this out Ï DON'T WANT TO TEACH! I wouldn't make a good teacher and plus you don't make that much where I'm from.

    I have heard mixed things regarding a math degree. Some say it will open many doors and others say good luck finding a job with just a math degree. I interview well and I have lots of experience with interviews.

    If you a math degree please let me know if it has helped you or not. I will be graduating with a Bachelor degree.

    Looking for good solid advice. Thanks.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 20, 2013
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Where do you live? In some places that's about what baristas at Starbucks make.
     
  3. linuxguy1010

    linuxguy1010 New Member

    I live in Salt Lake City, Utah
     
  4. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

  5. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    Randell beat me to it. An actuary career is something you should definitely check out.
     
  6. SurfDoctor

    SurfDoctor Moderator

    I'll third the opinion of Randell and AV8R. I've read good things about pay, job security and job satisfaction for actuaries.
     
  7. Delta

    Delta Active Member

    My friend has a math degree and was able to get a second bs in accounting from western governors real quick and a got a job!
     
  8. linuxguy1010

    linuxguy1010 New Member

    Thank you for the recommendations for an Actuary. I will look into it.

    @Delta: My intentions was just to get one degree in Mathematics and get a job from it. But I'm glad it worked out for your friend.
     
  9. Ian Anderson

    Ian Anderson Active Member

    My former employer, an large aerospace company, employed math majors to work on proposal costing.

    You might check into any local companies involved with:
    Aerospace
    Surveys
    Insurance rates
    Software
    Energy
    Quality Assurance
    Surveying

    If you are prepared to relocate you will find a job faster.
     
  10. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Isn't SLC a boom town these days? I'd think there's no need to relocate, especially with such modest salary requirements. The other question is whether majoring in math means you also do a bit of computer science. There's a lot of work in that as well, and I hear you're in one of the regions for it.
     
  11. AUTiger00

    AUTiger00 New Member

    A math degree would demonstrate to me that you have strong analytical skills. I'd look at entry-level analyst jobs in sales/sales support, finance or operations. The actuary path is a good suggestion. You get paid well to predict when people will die.
     
  12. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    I have a math undergrad, I worked many years as a statistics and math programmer for pharmaceutical firms. I then got a masters in Computer Engineering and then an MBA.

    A math degree is an easy sell.

    Teaching requires a teaching credential in most states and provinces in Canada, this means an extra year or two of education.
     
  13. xodus1914

    xodus1914 New Member

    LOL..Dude, I am 42 years old. I have made a few mistakes in my life. Getting a B.S. in Math (minor comp sci) has NEVER been one of them. Even though I went down the teaching path (part-time), I work for the Department of Defense during the day and interact with Defense Contractors extensively. All of their engineers have either Math, comp sci or engineering degrees. You get a minor in engineering or comp sci and you will making entry -level sociology major cry at your salary. (no offense to sociology majors...lol) . I also know a lot of Math majors that were trainable for all types of entry-level IT jobs.
    Like other folks said, the B.S. in Math shows that you have analytical skills. If you have decent presentation/writing skills you are miles ahead of the other techie types.
     
  14. Tom57

    Tom57 Member

    I did my undergrad degree in math and a masters in financial economics. I worked for many years as an actuarial consultant. Now I am teaching math, and I also do side work in the financial field (to supplement the relatively poor pay in the teaching field).

    The acturarial profession is a good one. These days actuaries do much more than figure out the probability that someone will die. Actually, they have always done much more than that. Actuaries work in straight finance; they work for pension consulting firms; and they work in all sorts of risk management capacities.

    Most employers assume that people with math degrees will be highly trainable as well as good problem solvers. A nice plus these days is if you can augment your math degree with higher level programming skills as well as statistics skills. Big Data is for real, so mathematically competent employees who can also deal with big datasets, write some code, and slap together a spreadsheet, will be well off. If you can show that you now how to slap a few effective sentences together on top of all that, then you'll really be humming along.

    Should you be worried about getting a job with a math degree? No.
     
  15. 03310151

    03310151 Active Member

    Good grief man, $15 an hour!? Before you go a lookin for that type of gig and before you do another long division problem for your degree, you need some self esteem! Post haste!

    Hell, there are people on this board that think flipping burgers at McDonalds should pay $15 per hour and here you are with your degree and low wage expectations. If you do not think you are worth more than that, why should an employer?
     
  16. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    Among my many considerations for the future is doing a BS in Mathematics (maybe a double major in English). It's the degree I feel like I should have done to begin with- had I even thought of it. Social Sciences is an "ok, that works" degree whereas Mathematics is a "wow, really?!" degree.

    The problem is that now I'd have to spend thousands of extra dollars to do what I should have done to begin with. I think some good advice to just about anyone out there is this: if you can do math, do math.
     
  17. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Social science majors who are strong in statistics can find employment as market research analysts. They understand human behavior and can crunch numbers. A lot of psychologists are also statisticians.
     
  18. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    No. Next question.
     
  19. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I think that one of the keys to employment in many fields these days is the willingness to relocate. If you are rooted in a small or semi-small town or a rural or semi-rural environment then there are probably lots of problems ahead. One of the problems that distance learning solves is the proximity problem. You can live in the middle of nowhere and still earn your degree. However, once you have that degree in hand it does very little good if all the jobs are 5 hours away.
     
  20. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I think there's a lot of truth in this. I grew up in a small, rural town. It's one of the reasons why I was first interested in DL. I resisted leaving until my mid twenties. Moving to where the jobs are was one of the best things I've ever done. I'm no longer married to any specific location and could easily pick up and relocate again if I had to for work.
     

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