Job prospects

I'm sure this topic has been done to death 1000 times - but I have to ask.

What kind of job can someone get doing pure mathematics apart from teacher? How much do these jobs pay.

I absolutely love pure maths and am very able at it. I want to know about the job prospects so I can compare with my current plan of doing medicine at uni.

Reply 1

TheGrandmaster

Couldn't you google this? Or if this topic has been 'done to death', then why not use the search function?

Reply 2

kopite493

accountancy?
banking?

Reply 3

Intriguing Alias

Because I understand what jobs there are, like accountancy and banking. But what do they entail? Is probably a better way of putting my questions.

What would a mathematician in finance actually do? Is it statistics or pure maths?

Reply 4

NeonSkies

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/options_mathematics_your_skills.htm

Reply 5

Daniel Freedman

Banking, accountancy etc don't require any maths past arithmetic.

There are some maths-related jobs in the finance sector though: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_analyst will give you some examples.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 6

skippy83

Original post by hassi94

Not many mate, thats my worry!
i've been an accountant and know thats not how I want to spend the rest of my life, I'm planning on doing a maths degree, but i worry that its all a waste of time, it mightn't open any more doors than already are open. Apart from teacher, so that is my aim at the moment, I can't think of anything else.
finance/banking, its all same, its just paper pushing and data entry, computer does it all (bar a few specialist jobs, but they are hard to find) in my opinion obviously ;-)

Reply 7

Daniel Freedman

Original post by skippy83

Do you mean that there aren't many jobs a maths graduate can get? Or that there aren't many jobs that involve university-level mathematics?

If it's the former, you're wrong. With the obvious exception of medicine, most non-academic jobs only require a degree in some academic discipline (and generally employers care more about the university/degree classification than the content of the course). There isn't, for example, a requirement for journalists to have a degree in English.

OP, if money's your main aim then you're completely fine studying maths (as it will only benefit your prospects of getting a job in say trading/banking etc, which are some of the highest paid jobs around).

If you want a job that involves (directly) using the mathematics you'll learn at university, then you're more restricted. Not many professions need that level of maths, and research doesn't tend to pay as well as professional jobs. As I posted above though, there are maths-related jobs in the finance sector (and there are probably maths-related jobs elsewhere, such as the pharmaceutical industry or something). There's also programming-based jobs that can have a high level of maths content. [The reason I say "(directly)" is because the analytical skills etc that you'll develop over the course of a maths degree are likely to be useful in many jobs blah blah.]

I know more about Banking than Accountancy, so I'll focus on that. In the early stages (first 2-3 years), it will focus on spreadsheet work and general repetitive, conceptually basic (but often practically complicated) tasks. As you progress, it becomes progressively more client-based (making pitches, client meetings etc). It requires no maths past GCSE level. Starting salaries are around £40k on average, with substantial bonuses.

You might want to look into Trading (this is potentially one of the highest paid jobs - the average banker will earn more than the average trader, but the top trader will earn considerably more than the top banker), as it can be a bit more mathsy than banking/accountancy. There is a quantitative prop trading firm called Jane Street, for example, who's interviews are almost entirely maths-based (mainly probability), and they pay a hell of a lot (I know someone doing an internship there, who is being paid something like £60k pro rata).

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 8

skippy83

Original post by Daniel Freedman

it wasn't really either, it was more what you answered afterwards. I want the impossible dream ha, a job i actually enjoy lol. I enjoy studying maths (i don't mean at school either, I'm 28 so have been working 10+ years, and am teaching myself A level maths on top of full time job) and i think i would like a more maths based job, obviously I would like a decent salary, but it isn't the be all and end all.
It obviously wasn't a huge issue cos in my accounts career, i could've been earning a lot more if i'd conitinued to do my chartered but i couldn't be bothered as I didn't enjoy accounts work.

so it was more the fact that if you say were only good at maths and dire in anything else, so needed a job to play to your strengths, I see a very limited choice.
I'd be more than happy to be contradicted though, as I still want to get my degree, and as you state, a lot of jobs do just want a degree regardless of what it is, so for sure in a general sense more jobs would be open to me.
Although even in accounts, i'd probably only enter at a slightly higher level than i left at, as i had the experience and it is very hard to get started in accounts without it.

The quantitive prop firm gives me something to look into though thanks :smile: