[M2k13]

I'm going to apply to Uni this year and my degree choices is a nightmare.

I love Maths and wish to pursue it at degree level. But I get complaints from my family that I will not get a job besides being a teacher/lecturer, as the degree is useless and the uni's exaggerate about the job prospects for a Maths graduate.

If its actually true then should I study Accountancy or Economics?
Even though I would expect myself to do better in a Maths degree compared to an accountancy or economics degree, as i'd have more motivation.

P.S. I study double Maths and economics at A level.


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[SecretDuck]

A Maths degree is not useless and is widely respected by employers as it brings so many transferable skills.

[kka25]

I did Computing and I wish I did do Maths as well :/

But going back to your question, in my view, it's better to perform whilst doing the degree; get a First or a high 2:1, then there would be a strong chance that you'd get a job.

Owh, and if you want to be a lecturer, you need a PhD, and... what's wrong with being a teacher

[Insert_username]

(Original post by M2k13)
I'm going to apply to Uni this year and my degree choices is a nightmare.

I love Maths and wish to pursue it at degree level. But I get complaints from my family that I will not get a job besides being a teacher/lecturer, as the degree is useless and the uni's exaggerate about the job prospects for a Maths graduate.

If its actually true then should I study Accountancy or Economics?
Even though I would expect myself to do better in a Maths degree compared to an accountancy or economics degree, as i'd have more motivation.

P.S. I study double Maths and economics at A level.


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Most people who do investment banking did Maths also you can always combine Maths with another subject eg economics


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[Quadratic]

A Maths degree has tonnes of job prospects. Granted the content of the degree is not very applicable in the real world (except if you're teaching or lecturing maths) compared to other degrees, but employers aren't expecting you to jump into jobs knowing how to do them (a common misconception). They want to see you can learn to a certain level (i.e. earning a degree) and then they'll train you up in their specific job themselves. I think this is perhaps where your parents have got confused?

[harr]

It's not generally a vocational degree. It's likely to be about as good as Accountancy for becoming an accountant (though an Accountancy degree would give you exemptions from a lot of the professional exams and potentially shows some interest in the job) and better for everything else. I know three graduate trainees at PWC. Two studied History and the other Maths. Economics is better for becoming an economist, but for most things they're going to be pretty similar. Maths graduates that I know generally ended up in banking or programming.

Most jobs don't require a specific degree, so the big thing for employability is getting a 2.1.

Maths, like all subjects, is different at university, so there's no guarantee that you will like it. But it's not a bad degree for employability, so you might as well choose on enjoyability.

[milienhaus]

I can't really think of a job that Accounting or Economics would qualify you for that Maths wouldn't - I do Maths (just finished third year) and most of my course mates seem to have gone into finance-related jobs, or technology, or higher education, just like the people I know doing Econ. We don't have Accounting but thats going to be similar - to go into financial services in that area (Audit, Tax, whatever) you have to take further exams anyway so although Accpunting might give you exemptions it really doesn't make a difference to your prospects.

Do the degree you want to do, you'll perform better and enjoy it more and that's the most important thing!

[DonJuan]

(Original post by M2k13)
I'm going to apply to Uni this year and my degree choices is a nightmare.

I love Maths and wish to pursue it at degree level. But I get complaints from my family that I will not get a job besides being a teacher/lecturer, as the degree is useless and the uni's exaggerate about the job prospects for a Maths graduate.

If its actually true then should I study Accountancy or Economics?
Even though I would expect myself to do better in a Maths degree compared to an accountancy or economics degree, as i'd have more motivation.

P.S. I study double Maths and economics at A level.


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Your family is just so so wrong. The opportunity's for a maths graduate are endless, it is one of the best ways to prove your intelligence and problem solving capability to employers. Even starting at university there are tons of schemes run by the top banks to offer internships to physics and maths students and you are then fast-tracked into their graduate programmes with outrageous starting salaries of £50k plus. Obviously not everyone can manage to get onto these schemes, they are quite competitive, but finance is only one of a number of fields you can go into. Doing a more specialised graduate degree on top of a BA in maths is a great way to get into fields like actuarial science, computer programming, and many more.

[ChocoholicPolyglot]

I know someone who studied maths and then straight after graduating she taught some classes at university and she even went on to do something for NASA (all this while she was under 30). She is now going into forensics. Basically, there is a lot than can be done with a maths degree. If you really want to do maths then go for it!

[Keckers]

Any numerate degree is always far from being useless.

[M2k13]

(Original post by kka25)
I did Computing and I wish I did do Maths as well :/

But going back to your question, in my view, it's better to perform whilst doing the degree; get a First or a high 2:1, then there would be a strong chance that you'd get a job.

Owh, and if you want to be a lecturer, you need a PhD, and... what's wrong with being a teacher

Is there evidence that Maths graduates actually get jobs, I wanna show them that its worth getting it.
Also I'm not the teacher type of person. >.>


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[Quadratic]

(Original post by M2k13)
Is there evidence that Maths graduates actually get jobs, I wanna show them that its worth getting it.
Also I'm not the teacher type of person. >.>


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This is our universities maths graduates from 2010:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/careers/destin...athematics.pdf

[M2k13]

(Original post by Quadratic)
This is our universities maths graduates from 2010:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/careers/destin...athematics.pdf

Cheers!
This should help convince my parents


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[Lilmzbest]

Maths is actually one of the best degrees to do, it has so many transferable skills that employers look for (problem-solving etc.) and has a wide variety of career prospects, a quick google search will prove that it has high employability

I say do it if you want, you're the one who'll spent three years studying it, not your parents, so its important to study something that you like...

[pop101]

Maths is the complete opposite of what your Title is. No offence, but your family are kind of morons - they haven't even looked around what you can do with a degree in Maths: scientific research, design and development, management services, computing, accountancy, actuarial sciences, investment banking, statistical work, teaching (as you've mentioned), cryptography, and pretty much any job but that of a doctor and language teachers

(Also considering a Maths degree as I enjoy Maths )

[Venomilys]

you are very ill informed. A maths degree is one of the best degrees attainable.

[rr0]

(Original post by M2k13)
I'm going to apply to Uni this year and my degree choices is a nightmare.

I love Maths and wish to pursue it at degree level. But I get complaints from my family that I will not get a job besides being a teacher/lecturer, as the degree is useless and the uni's exaggerate about the job prospects for a Maths graduate.

If its actually true then should I study Accountancy or Economics?
Even though I would expect myself to do better in a Maths degree compared to an accountancy or economics degree, as i'd have more motivation.

P.S. I study double Maths and economics at A level.


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You can get many jobs with a maths degree.

Take a look on LinkedIn (professional networking site) http://www.linkedin.com and search for mathematcs - you'll find people with all sorts of jobs.

[thedifferentiator]

Whats wrong with being a teacher?

It's not glorious but it's certainly not bad.

Working hours are generally not that long 9-3, granted there can be alot to do outside of school. But my maths teacher told me he did little to none outside of school as he didn't need to and he got it all done in school hours. This can't be said for other subjects.

13 weeks paid holiday.

People say there are high amounts of stress because you're trying to get kids to pass, but there is high amount of stress in most jobs.

Start on usually around the 25-28k a year range. Often rises quickly, my teacher was on 35k after a couple of years work, now he is head of department and on 50k. This is in an average school too. Better schools will pay slightly higher.

The job security is pretty decent as is the pension.

I'd personally consider it myself after my degree.

[punkski]

a degree in maths is pretty ****ing useless. don't listen to the arithmeticians or whatever who try to tell you otherwise. do something with practical application and some social value, like accounting or economics. why would you study pure maths?

[M2k13]

(Original post by punkski)
a degree in maths is pretty ****ing useless. don't listen to the arithmeticians or whatever who try to tell you otherwise. do something with practical application and some social value, like accounting or economics. why would you study pure maths?

Is there evidence to show this?


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