The Student Room Group
Reply 1
Actuary, Statistician, Research, Meterologist, Engineering. There's probably others as well.
Reply 2
Don't know if they are well paid but they do need a good level of mathematical thinking.
Reply 3
investment banking, up to 120,000 a year
Reply 4
Pamiyoo
investment banking, up to 120,000 a year

Plus bonuses.
Reply 5
with a maths degree u can do any job in the financial services sector which pays the best. Whether that be IB, Accountancy, Management Consultancy etc.

With IB u start at around 30k and get good bonuses. The more time and the firm the higher the bonus.

With accountancy at Deloitte for example u start at around 28k and after taking the ACA exams and u will get up to 60k after 2 years. Then after 10 years at the firm u will get upto 300k.
Reply 6
mikeyT
Actuary, Statistician, Research, Meterologist, Engineering. There's probably others as well.

I'm curious, what mathematical research pays well (£30k+, if it isn't finance)?
Reply 7
Andrew-Sweden
I'm curious, what mathematical research pays well (£30k+, if it isn't finance)?

One of my tutors has just won a £100k award for some research. Some of my other tutors are paid very well. But mathematical research is something that you have to enjoy to even think about doing.
Reply 8
paniyoo
investment banking, up to 120,000 a year

steve2006
With IB u start at around 30k

Where does such nonsense come from?! Where do you guys get such awful misconceptions about banking from? These days at any top firm you'll start on £37k basic salary, £6k+ golden handshake, then anywhere from £30-50k bonus depending on when you started making money for the bank. In your SECOND YEAR as a grad you can be expecting £120k including the bonuses. Later on as an MD yes your basic salary will be £120k but the bonus will be literally millions.

To the OP, there are plenty of areas within banking where you do use maths skills to make the money. The more complex areas of structured derivatives (what I do) - trading or structuring. And then all the "quant" roles developing algorithmic/black box trading platforms etc. There's also risk management where many firms will want a PhD in Maths, but the pay's not so great as it's middle office, will take 4 years till you're hitting £100k inc bonuses - now that sucks.
Reply 9
Some personal experience on actuarial salaries (at IB so high end of salary range):-

Graduated '03 no exams and went to US - starting salary 35,000GBP basic + sign - on 5,000GBP.

8 exams, approx 3,500GBP per exam, bonuses approx 15-50% of base (at junior levels - multiples at senior levels), pay rise annually of around 10% of base

10 years - 200,000GBP. 20 years - Ms. (assuming you're responsibilities grow beyond 10 yrs).

Pros -
- Well Respected.
- Good Money.
- Internationally transferable, international opportunities.
- Low turnover.

I now want to go back to uni. Why?
- How much money do you really need?
- What do you really enjoy doing the most?
- Can be elitist.
- Very Long hours - unpublicised, but I have at times done the "IB" hours, average around 14-16 hours per day (which believe me is ALOT of hours - it can wear you down).

As an aside point.

IB - VERY high drop out rates, VERY long hours, VERY competitive, VERY hard to get started in.

Big 4 Consultancies - Partners are VERY well paid, everyone else is an expense and are overworked and under paid. Having some knowledge of that sector (lots of actuaries in the US in the Big 4), only around 5-10% of grads get through to Partner level, most of the Partners have lots of experience at other non-consultancy companies. Remember - you are a consultant, but if you don't know what you are talking about AND/OR have no industry credentials, then you can't pull in the business and therefore can't make partner.

Hope that helps.
Reply 10
mayavara
Where does such nonsense come from?! Where do you guys get such awful misconceptions about banking from? These days at any top firm you'll start on £37k basic salary, £6k+ golden handshake, then anywhere from £30-50k bonus depending on when you started making money for the bank. In your SECOND YEAR as a grad you can be expecting £120k including the bonuses. Later on as an MD yes your basic salary will be £120k but the bonus will be literally millions.

To the OP, there are plenty of areas within banking where you do use maths skills to make the money. The more complex areas of structured derivatives (what I do) - trading or structuring. And then all the "quant" roles developing algorithmic/black box trading platforms etc. There's also risk management where many firms will want a PhD in Maths, but the pay's not so great as it's middle office, will take 4 years till you're hitting £100k inc bonuses - now that sucks.

For Structuring, do they prefer MSc's? Or would a quanty BSc do?
Investment Banking and Actuary are the obvious ones...
Reply 12
sminty

I now want to go back to uni.




Cool, what are you going be doing??
emm ive just went into alevel and im doing maths business and ICT
in gcse i got A in business a A* in maths and a B in ICT i was wondering in uni what would be the best courses for me and i realy enjoy banking but im not sure :confused: thanks you.
PS I got a C in my english :mad: