Career Opportunities for Mathematics Majors

Recent graduates have chosen advanced study in a variety of selective graduate mathematics programs at schools like Dartmouth College, Emory University, University of Virginia, Washington University at St. Louis, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Several mathematics-economics majors have pursued advanced study in economics or finance at the University of Chicago, Yale University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Texas at Austin. Other recent majors are employed as teachers or work in a variety of industries including insurance, banking, computing, and investment management.

Careers of some graduates of Agnes Scott College with majors in mathematics.

List of careers

From Mathematics to Playwriting: Read about the career of Laylage Courie '94

Interview with Karen Shuman '95, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Grinnell College, about her research in mathematics and her time at Agnes Scott College, from the 2002 President's Report, "Science as a Liberal Art" (pdf file)

Career Information

Career and Employment Resources for Mathematics Students
A site from the Mathematical Association of America that has links for descriptions of careers in mathematics, advice for looking for a job, advice for looking for a graduate school, and other information.

The American Math Society and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics have constructed a great WWW resource on careers in mathematics. For example, visit the Mathematics Career Bulletin Board to learn about the careers of mathematicians in non-academic positions, or read about some actual applications used by mathematicians in their jobs.

In response to the question "What can I do with a math degree?" the American Math Society has launched the Early Career Profiles Network. This is a web resource on which mathematics departments systematically provide job profiles of their recent bachelors-degree alumni, highlighting where they work and how they got their job, how they use math on the job, their academic background, and their advice for students.

Thinking of a Career in Applied Mathematics? from SIAM is a good source of information and advice on how mathematicians work in industry.

The following brochures are available in the mathematics suite in Buttrick. Please feel free to look through any of these.

The MAA Mathematical Scientists at Work is a collection of career essays in which women and men with mathematics backgrounds describe the ways in which their training in mathematics impacts upon their work.

Sloan Career Cornerstone Center has information about careers in actuarial science, mathematics, and statistics.

Larry Riddle
Last modified May 2008