In a 2010 survey by Careercast.com, the best job was considered to be actuary, for the second year in a row. In their top ten best jobs, six were based on mathematics and are good career options for math graduates. The criteria used to assess each career were
- Work Environment
- Physical Demands
- Stress
- Income
- Hiring Outlook
Each criterion was given a scoring range, and each job was scored against each criterion.
Top Careers For All Subjects
The top ten jobs were judged to be:
- Actuary
- Software Engineer
- Computer Systems Analyst
- Biologist
- Historian
- Mathematician
- Paralegal Assistant
- Statistician
- Accountant
- Dental Hygienist
A degree in mathematics is excellent preparation for a career as actuary, software engineer, computer systems analyst, mathematician, statistician, and accountant. In other words, a math degree could be used to obtain work in six of the top ten best jobs. These six careers may be grouped into the three sub-groups: financial, software, and mathematics.
Top Financial Careers For Mathematicians
The highest scoring job of all those surveyed is actuary. An actuary basically collects and analyzes statistics for insurance, pension, mortgage, or other financial companies. More information is given in "Math Career Options - Professional Actuary". This career scores well in all five of the criteria used to assess jobs. Median salary (over $85,000) is reasonable but the high end of the range is over $160,000, and salary rises very substantially with experience.
Accountancy came in at number nine on the best jobs list. Accountants gather financial data, analyze the data, and provide business guidance to managers or individuals. Accountancy scores well in most of the five criteria used, especially hiring outlook. Median salary at over $67,000 is unspectacular to begin with, but rises with experience. Working conditions are good too - low stress, good working environment, and low physical demands.
Top Software Careers For Mathematicians
In the best jobs list, software engineer and computer systems analyst were ranked two and three respectively. They will be summarized together here, as they are not independent jobs: software engineers often change career to become systems analysts. A software engineer develops and maintains software systems, and sometimes hardware. A systems analyst devises computer systems, that are then programmed by the software engineers.
For hiring outlook, software engineer scored the highest of any job in 2010. Working conditions are excellent, and these jobs have low stress and physical demands. The median salary for software engineer is over $85,000, rising with experience, but the main attraction with this career is the very low unemployment rate, and projected job growth rates of around 7% per year.
Working conditions and low stress levels for systems analyst and software engineer are similar. Hiring outlook for systems analyst are very good, although not as high as for software engineer. Median salary is over $76,000, rising with experience.
Top Math Careers For Math and Statistics Majors
Mathematicians and statistician came sixth and eighth on the list of best jobs. Mathematicians apply mathematical models, equations, and formulas to real-world situations to solve problems. They do this in industry, education, or business. Statisticians gather and analyse data to test for changes or differences between groups. There may be considerable overlap between the two careers.
These two careers for mathematicians share low stress, good working environment, and low physical demands. The salary for mathematicians is much higher: with a median income of over $95,000, it is the highest salary for any career in the top ten best jobs list. The median salary for statisticians in the survey was over $73,000 but like all professional careers, this rises substantially with experience.
Top Math Careers Summary
Mathematicians have a wide range of career options generally, and six of the top ten best jobs in a recent survey are available to them. Math and statistics degrees enable the holder to pursue a career that is low stress, well paid, has a great working environment, and requires little physical work. There are many reputable universities that provide math degrees and Master of Math Degrees online.
Top Math Careers Survey References
The survey "Jobs Rated: Ten Best Jobs 2010" by careercast.com was used to rank the careers listed in this article. Other salary information and job definition was sourced at payscale.com
Careercast.com, accessed 23-April-2010
Payscale.com Data on 2009 Salaries & Bonuses, accessed 23-April, 2010
Martin Bell - Martin holds a B.Sc. degree in chemical engineering, and an M.Sc. degree in electronics and computing. He has spent more than 25 years ...
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