Reasonable careers for Math Major

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you did a more pure math undergrad and went to grad school for one year in math, but figured out it was not your program- how do you go into IT, already know Python and a few other programs. Does taking any of the certificate programs for Data Analytics or Data Scientist or IBM or Google certifications help? They seem really easy and quick.

Also, where would you look outside of LinkedIn, indeed, zip recruiter……. Any individual companies to target?

You don't need any certificates. You send a resume that names your non-school skills and your degree, and go from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What level of college/program? What minor? What electives? What personal skilled interests/hobbies?

Undergrad in pure math is a professionally useless liberal art degree. It's a gateway to science and technology like History is for law school applications. It's a general foundational education, not vocational. It's an enhancer to your other skills, not a skill in itself.
You need to combine it with something.

Entry level jobs include actuary, auditor, something in data analysis, teacher in a district desperate for staff.
If you have a secondary interest, more options open.

you people are utterly clueless, this is why you don’t get your advice from the bone heads of DCUM.

This is a pretty reasonable response actually. The people who go from math degree to CS are overwelmingly CS double majors or students who had a deep interest in computer science. You don't walk into a computer science career willy nilly and do need the technical skills. Combinatorics and Galois Theory doesn't just create Python script alone.

IDK about that. I was required to program in my 400 level math classes and "walked" into a IT job straight from undergraduate Math.

How long ago was this? The market isn't as hot and every year becomes substantially more competitive. Also, IT is a bit different in terms of expectations and training than software engineering.

What I'm getting at is there is this rising notion that a math major can bs there way into Dropbox when it is very difficult to do without some coursework outside of math. The most "coding" I needed for my math degree was LaTeX, and I maybe would've learned R if I took stats. If students with four years of coursework in computer science and participation in coding clubs and internships and different projects aren't getting jobs, you will struggle a lot more as a person whose already fighting HR to recognize your degree as relevant.

It's a brave new world, CS isn't even necessary for many jobs. Information Technology is in the Business school and we hire cybersecurity engineers from those programs. We hire former military with certificates. We hire Math majors for server operations, coding, program management, network engineering, etc.

Apply to local contractors.

You can also get starter jobs in finance, take the exams and work in finance.

Not every job has to be with FANG.

[Anonymous]

G

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like you need to double major in Econ or something similar to be more employable

Or, if they really want to be employable, Finance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What level of college/program? What minor? What electives? What personal skilled interests/hobbies?

Undergrad in pure math is a professionally useless liberal art degree. It's a gateway to science and technology like History is for law school applications. It's a general foundational education, not vocational. It's an enhancer to your other skills, not a skill in itself.
You need to combine it with something.

Entry level jobs include actuary, auditor, something in data analysis, teacher in a district desperate for staff.
If you have a secondary interest, more options open.

you people are utterly clueless, this is why you don’t get your advice from the bone heads of DCUM.

This is a pretty reasonable response actually. The people who go from math degree to CS are overwelmingly CS double majors or students who had a deep interest in computer science. You don't walk into a computer science career willy nilly and do need the technical skills. Combinatorics and Galois Theory doesn't just create Python script alone.

Some millennial math professors don't understand computers at all, and some undergrad math majors have software or IT jobs based on their hobby skills, before even graduating.

It's not really about the degree or the coursework. It's about skills and smarts.

Most "Computer Science" careers are actually programming or IT careers. A CS grad can get a job easily, but maybe not the elite job they want.

[Anonymous]

There are combined applied math +CS degrees at many good colleges and most of their grads go to finance and consulting with high entry level salaries.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid considering a physics or math major and wonder the same thing. I think an engineering or applied math degree would be more practical, but I get why DC is more interested in studying physics or pure math. I hope that the pure physics or math degree will open doors for jobs or grad school if paired with a practical minor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid considering a physics or math major and wonder the same thing. I think an engineering or applied math degree would be more practical, but I get why DC is more interested in studying physics or pure math. I hope that the pure physics or math degree will open doors for jobs or grad school if paired with a practical minor.

The appeal for physics is you can go into most spaces and, if people hear you recently graduated with a physics degree, they'll assume you're pretty damn smart. The hard part is being personable enough (aka a** kisser) to get yourself a good position.
-Physics major who got into finance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid considering a physics or math major and wonder the same thing. I think an engineering or applied math degree would be more practical, but I get why DC is more interested in studying physics or pure math. I hope that the pure physics or math degree will open doors for jobs or grad school if paired with a practical minor.

The appeal for physics is you can go into most spaces and, if people hear you recently graduated with a physics degree, they'll assume you're pretty damn smart. The hard part is being personable enough (aka a** kisser) to get yourself a good position.
-Physics major who got into finance.

I would assume the same benefit applies to math majors?

[Anonymous]

If you are good at what you do, you'll find good jobs with almost any major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are good at what you do, you'll find good jobs with almost any major.

How vague.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid considering a physics or math major and wonder the same thing. I think an engineering or applied math degree would be more practical, but I get why DC is more interested in studying physics or pure math. I hope that the pure physics or math degree will open doors for jobs or grad school if paired with a practical minor.

The appeal for physics is you can go into most spaces and, if people hear you recently graduated with a physics degree, they'll assume you're pretty damn smart. The hard part is being personable enough (aka a** kisser) to get yourself a good position.
-Physics major who got into finance.

I would assume the same benefit applies to math majors?

Yes 100%. The only thing is selling it during the hiring phase. I've had a few interviews where it was clear that the team lead or whoever wouldn't believe that I was interested in finance, because "you aren't an econ major." I find the major = career attitude stupid, but you have to defend against it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actuary.

this is not a reasonable response.

Huh? It's maybe the most math job there is.

[Anonymous]

One of DS's friends was a math major and now he works for the CIA. No idea of the specific job.

[Anonymous]

I went into programming with a pure math degree. Yes, that was ages ago, but these days, I think it would be hard to get out of college with a math degree without some minimum programming experience. I also worked at an accounting (not CPA obviously) job for a bit.