Jobs with a maths degree, not finance

I graduated from uni with a first in Maths last year. Currently, I'm working as an exploration geophysicist. This is quite interesting however I have been considering other options as I'm not sure if this is want I want to do as a career.

Does anyone have any ideas? I wouldn't mind something else in the oil and gas industry. I was also looking at things like space exploration, weapons manufacturing, etc.

What kind of careers can I get into with a maths degree? Everyone says "you can do anything" but can some people give me some specific jobs and careers I can look at?

Although I respect the finance industry, I'd prefer not to do that. I feel that the skills required in that isn't specific to my degree and I've tried finance in the past and I'm just not good at it.

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Reply 1

rickfloss

Original post by claret_n_blue

sports trading, you can compile odds, watch footie etc

Reply 2

claret_n_blue

Original post by rickfloss

sports trading, you can compile odds, watch footie etc

Is there a lot of money in that? Could you work for a football club doing something like that...that'd be pretty cool.

Reply 3

FDR

Original post by claret_n_blue

Original post by rickfloss

sports trading, you can compile odds, watch footie etc

I was going to suggest something along the lines of management consultancy, perhaps specialising in oil and , but sports trading is a really good shout - companies like Ladbrokes etc may not seem prestigious, but they pay really well for their trading roles - I remember getting an email about a grad scheme in sports trading with someone (I think Ladbrokes, maybe Betfair), that was £35k in Leeds, which is pretty good, particularly considering it's outside of London.

Reply 4

1platinum

How did you get into geophysics?

Reply 5

claret_n_blue

Original post by 1platinum

How did you get into geophysics?

t
Through the careers department at uni. They sent round an email saying this company was coming to talk to students about jobs in geophysics and so I decided to check it out

Reply 6

1platinum

Original post by claret_n_blue

t
Through the careers department at uni. They sent round an email saying this company was coming to talk to students about jobs in geophysics and so I decided to check it out

And you didn't need any further education or training or anything?

Reply 7

wanderlust.xx

I know you've already said that finance isn't for you, but the world of finance is huge. I started off in insurance and hated it completely, and thought I sucked at it. Moving into retail banking, however, has made me realise how different two companies can really be. The tools are the same but the work itself is worlds apart.

Just off the top of my head, my fellow maths grads are in audit, tax, insurance pricing, actuarial consultancies, portfolio analysis, credit risk analysis, treasury, IT infrastructure... I mean the variety of work is utterly immense.

I'd strongly consider your options in finance as there are plenty, and plenty, and plenty.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 8

mizzsnazzter

There's always actuary?

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Reply 9

Knee Grow

Original post by mizzsnazzter

There's always actuary?

Posted from TSR Mobile

"not finance"

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Reply 10

claret_n_blue

Original post by 1platinum

And you didn't need any further education or training or anything?

That's one thing I was SO sceptical about when I was applying...but my company insisted that having a qualification in geophysics/geology wasn't an strict requirement. They were happy to hire maths/physics graduates as they said that we have the logical thinking and analytic skills that they want to solve their problems. I've been given plenty of training by the company so that's not too bad.

It's quite hard to branch out into other parts of the oil industry without some kind of geology or geophysics education though...I think I will need more than 1 year experience as well if I don't have these degrees lol.

Original post by wanderlust.xx

I think I would leave finance as a back up. It's also a case of I like having a job that not everyone does. I'm not saying EVERYONE does finance, but even with my job, I've met more people who are in the finance industry than I've met people in geophysics! Plus, there is so much competition in that industry. Lol excuses, excuses...

Reply 11

claret_n_blue

Original post by FDR

I looked at a job, I think it was with Coral, it seems like you need to be good at programming, say C++ or something?

Reply 12

wanderlust.xx

Original post by claret_n_blue

Yeah, you meet loads of people in finance because it's such a huge industry! Are you really ignorant enough to believe that two credit analysts will be doing the exact same role? If person A is a credit analyst for mortgages, and person B is the same for credit cards, there's a huge difference in day-to-day work, theory and everything else.

However, you've clearly made up your mind. I hope you decide to investigate further to see the range of roles available to you.

Reply 13

FDR

Original post by claret_n_blue

I looked at a job, I think it was with Coral, it seems like you need to be good at programming, say C++ or something?

ah, fair enough - I didn't read the description thoroughly enough then! I just remember thinking it was really good. I still reckon with your degree, you could land a job decent job at a betting company.