BS in Mathematics? (Spin-off of BA in Psychology Thread)

[wendyroo]

What should I be telling my oldest about a mathematics degree? He thinks that is what he wants to major in, and he certainly is very strong in math. He is not interested in coding, engineering or contest math. He is interested in pure math, conceptual math puzzles, chess/logic/game theory, and the math of astronomy and black holes. (And also education, Spanish and art as strong side interests.)

He is a rising 9th grader, and at this point can't narrow down what math-related job he would actually want to do.

What doors will a BS in math open for him? Should he plan for graduate studies?

Any advice would be appreciated. DH and I both have Masters in engineering, which led pretty directly to related jobs. I'm much less familiar with possible paths for math majors.

[Faith-manor]

Last I knew, the NSA was hiring math majors straight out of college. It is math deciding work. Very theoretical. Information theory, cryptology. Maybe that would be an option. 

[Arcadia]

 

[almondbutterandjelly]

NSA, math teacher, administrative stuff. People are impressed by math majors. There is no direct pipeline like in nursing or engineering but employment shouldn’t be a problem. Attention to detail and problem solving skills are desirable. 

[smstjohn]

I'd also look into statistics. I know people with math degrees who work in statistics heavy jobs or it could be that he could pursue that directly. 

When I took both math and statistics in college, a lot of the classes were listed under both majors. So Math 511 was also listed as STAT 511.

[gardenmom5]

What does he want to do with a math degree?  Has he looked at the education requirements for those types of jobs?

research?

actuary? (ok, more statistics, but serious statistics - and (potentially) seriously lucrative)

cosmology? astronomy?

physics?

my niece's dh has a PhD in math, not sure what he does.  (Kinda ticked at my sister for *not* getting video of our bsee brother lecturing a PhD math candidate about math.  her dsil was seriously excited to talk about math mawahahahaha.  our brother couldn't keep up.)

Tech (of all kiinds) aerospace (of all kinds), etc. companies do hire mathematicians on research projects.

1dd worked with several physicists (PhDs) in one dept. at the tech company where she works.  pretty cutting edge computer stuff (not coding)
Dh's cousin was a mathematician (PhD) with NASA.

I had a chiropractor whose BS was math.

[Lecka]

I don’t know what her further education or experience was, but my mom’s friend’s daughter is living in Atlanta and working for an insurance company.  However I don’t think she’s an actuary. 
 

She’s doing extremely well.  
 

 

[Heartstrings]

Wall Street and investment places love math majors.  

[wathe]

People I know with math bachelor's degrees:  actuaries, accountants, IT/computer network, high school teacher, graphic design, university professor.   There is lots of overlap with electrical engineering degree friends in terms of IT/computer network type of careers.

[lewelma]

My ds is a math and physics double major. He has been head hunted by hedge funds and data science companies. 

[sgo95]

Many great options have been listed above. Just wanted to note that most of these options for math majors will require some level of coding skills. My hubby was an applied math major (to statistics) and worked in the actuarial field before getting advanced degrees in finance/financial engineering and working in finance.

[BeachGal]

One of my sons majored in pure math and is now a trader and quant analyst for a market maker. He enjoys both the work and the people in his company.

High schoolers can begin taking actuarial exams. My son that I mentioned above passed two in high school. Society of Actuaries has more info.

Edited June 27, 2023 by BeachGal

[Katy]

He should also look into physics and actuarial science. Plenty of math majors make good money in investment banking, but they generally need a phD I think. 

[EKS]

7 hours ago, wendyroo said:

What doors will a BS in math open for him?

Lots of people in my program go into data science and actuarial science.

[Sneezyone]

8 hours ago, Faith-manor said:

Last I knew, the NSA was hiring math majors straight out of college. It is math deciding work. Very theoretical. Information theory, cryptology. Maybe that would be an option. 

Crypto is the direction we pushed DD b/c she's not interested in engineering (she wants to go into law enforcement) so we suggested she add chem or bio and start interning with a local coroner, etc. She can layer on a master's in forensics, if desired. One of my college roomies just retired from NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service, NOT a TV show) and works for the FBI and has offered to be her mentor; this isn't a pathway I know well but have someone I can ask. Maybe add on psychology and consider geo profiling?

Edited June 28, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Not_a_Number]

I think lots of places love math majors. They indicate problem-solving ability and companies will appreciate that.

From what I've read about your oldest, I'd worry much more about his ability to do well in an interview and his ability to manage the demands of the actual job than I would about his choice of major. A math major would definitely show his strengths on a resumé. 

[kokotg]

My oldest just graduated with a BA in math from a SLAC. His focus was pure math, but he also did a minor in data science with an emphasis on GIS. Grad school may well be in his future, but right now he just started working as a GIS analyst with the department of public safety near us (so police, fire, 911). I don't know how he'll like the job long term, but he's getting a very nice starting salary and great benefits. He wouldn't have gotten the job without the data science/GIS background, but they did tell him when they hired him that they liked that he had focused on math/stats. He did get pretty discouraged early on in his job search and commented, "it turns out no one wants to hire me to write proofs, and that's pretty much what I've spent the last 4 years doing." But it worked out. I'd also say that pretty much everything he did as an undergrad was textbook "getting ready to apply for a math PhD stuff." Lots of pure math. teaching assistant. a semester doing math in Budapest. An REU after junior year. Honors thesis. But at the last minute he was feeling unsure and overwhelmed and didn't apply. Much less recent example, but my husband was also a math major with a comp sci minor. He spent 5 years doing web development and then moved on to teaching high school math, which he's been happy with more often than not. 

[Roadrunner]

Mine decided on physics but is entertaining the possibility on doubling up on math for computation. I was told he would have options in tech and finance equally.  

[Sneezyone]

4 hours ago, kokotg said:

My oldest just graduated with a BA in math from a SLAC. His focus was pure math, but he also did a minor in data science with an emphasis on GIS. Grad school may well be in his future, but right now he just started working as a GIS analyst with the department of public safety near us (so police, fire, 911). I don't know how he'll like the job long term, but he's getting a very nice starting salary and great benefits. He wouldn't have gotten the job without the data science/GIS background...

THIS. I think whatever way they're leaning, do some minor studies and find a mentor/internship(s) to support gainful employment.

Edited June 28, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Mom_to3]

2 hours ago, kokotg said:

My oldest just graduated with a BA in math from a SLAC. His focus was pure math, but he also did a minor in data science with an emphasis on GIS. Grad school may well be in his future, but right now he just started working as a GIS analyst with the department of public safety near us (so police, fire, 911). I don't know how he'll like the job long term, but he's getting a very nice starting salary and great benefits. He wouldn't have gotten the job without the data science/GIS background, but they did tell him when they hired him that they liked that he had focused on math/stats. He did get pretty discouraged early on in his job search and commented, "it turns out no one wants to hire me to write proofs, and that's pretty much what I've spent the last 4 years doing." But it worked out. I'd also say that pretty much everything he did as an undergrad was textbook "getting ready to apply for a math PhD stuff." Lots of pure math. teaching assistant. a semester doing math in Budapest. An REU after junior year. Honors thesis. But at the last minute he was feeling unsure and overwhelmed and didn't apply. Much less recent example, but my husband was also a math major with a comp sci minor. He spent 5 years doing web development and then moved on to teaching high school math, which he's been happy with more often than not. 

Very interesting experience, thanks for posting. It is still early on for our eldest (rising 9th grader), but I would be surprised if math is not one of his majors in college. At the uni where I work, there are several majors that are often done jointly with math or applied math, like economics or computer science.