Math: Now What?

[Found on the Occupational Outlook Handbook]

What Do Mathematicians Do?

Many mathematicians work in academia, earning a Master’s degree and teaching at the grade school level or earning a PhD in their field and teaching at a college or university.  Additionally, mathematicians work in nearly all other fields, including astronomy, space exploration, climate research, medicine, national security, robotics, animated film, and in a wide range of businesses that involve the use of data.

Check out the American Mathematical Society’s undergraduate resources https://www.ams.org/learning-careers/students/undergraduate for more information on careers in math.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH A MATH DEGREE?

• Actuarial and Insurance
  • Actuary
  • Benefits Specialist
  • Financial Analyst
  • Investment Analyst
• Computer and Information Sciences
  • Applications Programmer
  • Computational Scientist
  • Computer Programmer
  • Computer Systems Analyst
  • Cryptanalyst
  • Data Scientist/Analyst
  • Database Administrator
  • Software Engineer
• Teaching/Academic Research
  • College or University Professor
  • Community College Instructor
  • Teacher
• Operations Research
  • Operations Research Analyst
  • Systems Engineer
• Statistics
  • Biometrician
  • Demographer
  • Econometrician
  • Psychometrician
  • Quality Control Analyst
  • Statistician
• Business/Industry
  • Applied Mathematician
  • Business Analyst
  • Communications Engineer
  • Market Researcher
  • Product Developer
• Health
  • Biomathematician
  • Data Analyst
  • Biomedical Engineer
  • Ecologist

Sample Job Titles for Math graduates

Selection of Employers for recent UMass Amherst Math alumni:

Class of 2025:

• EBSCO
• BDKMarket Group Investment Management
• Airoli
• UMass Amherst
• Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Liberty Mutual Insurance
• John Hancock
• Hanover Insurance Group
• Ward’s Berry Farm
• Workforce
• CVS Health
• eSecLending
• Quantech Services
• Columbia University
• LifeNet Health
• Publicis Sapient
• Norfolk & Dedham Group
• AIG
• International Study Center at Boston College 

Classes of 2023 & 2024

• Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon)
• Barclays Bank
• Bates Electric
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Brown & Brown Insurance
• Clean Harbors
• Coakley Middle School
• Deutsche Bank
• DraftKings
• Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS)
• Fyre
• High Lawn Farm
• Inovalon
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• John Hancock Financial
• Liberty Mutual Insurance
• Management Solutions
• Marsh (global professional services firm)
• Massachusetts General Hospital
• Medical Information Technology Inc (MEDITECH)
• National Institutes of Health
• Norfolk and Dedham Insurance Company
• Optum
• Raytheon Technologies
• Segal Consulting
• Shanghai Ruiyong Industry
• Springfield Public School District
• Tech Mahindra Americas Inc.
• The Boston Beer Company
• The TJX Companies
• TTI Power Equipment
• United Health Group
• Unum
• Wayfair

Actuarial Careers
Here are some of the actuarial companies that have recently recruited UMass Amherst students:

Previous Internship Sites as self-reported by UMass Amherst Math students :

To see where other Math students have completed internships, research projects, and career-related jobs, check out the Student Experiential Learning Database.  On the right, click on Departments, then check off Mathematics and Statistics to filter the results to Math majors.   

Sample Internships and REUs

• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
• Department of Energy
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• Sandia National Laboratory
• Wolfram Research
• Google
• MIT Lincoln Laboratory
• Broad Institute

Career Planning Resources & Websites

UMass Amherst CNS Career Center                                      www.cns.umass.edu/careers

UMass Handshake Database of Internships & Jobs             https://app.joinhandshake.com/stu/postings

CNS Completed Research/Internships database                https://secure.cns.umass.edu/webforms/internships

Math-Related Job & Internship Links 

Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates              http://www.ams.org/programs/students/emp-reu

Natl Science Foundation NSF Summer Research Opps               https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp

SIAM (job & internship listings)                                             https://www.siam.org/programs-initiatives/professional-development/career-resources/

Academic Math Jobs *Includes International*                  http://www.all-acad.com/Jobs/Mathematics

Actuarial Careers Inc, Jobs Board                                         http://www.actuarialcareers.com/about-our-jobs/

Actuarial Jobs for Pre-ACAS                                                   http://www.actuarialcareers.com/jobs-for-pre-acas/

American Statistical Association JobWeb                            https://careerconnect.amstat.org/

Association of Teachers of Mathematics in New England              https://atmim.wildapricot.org/

Association for Women in Mathematics Jobs Board         https://awm-math.org/jobboard/

Casualty Actuarial Society Career Center                            http://careers.casact.org/jobs/

Commonwealth of Mass Jobs by Category                          https://massanf.taleo.net/careersection

Federal Pathways Program Internships at NASA                https://www.nasa.gov/careers  

Math Assoc of America Jobs Board                                      https://maa.org/career-center/

Mathematics Education Jobs                                                https://nctm-jobs.careerwebsite.com/

National Security Agency Careers                                         http://www.nsa.gov/careers

Teach for America Internships                                              https://www.teachforamerica.org/

Teaching Math to Elementary & High School                     http://www.topusajobs.com/cgi/search.cgi?

Technology Jobs                                                                       https://www.dice.com/jobs/

Career Planning Links 

Careers for Numbers People                                                  http://www.learnhowtobecome.org/careers

Edge Program for Women Heading to Grad School              https://www.edgeforwomen.org/

Federal Agencies Hiring Math Majors                                  https://gogovernment.org/career/mathematics/ 

Find a Graduate School Program in Math Sciences              http://www.ams.org/programs/students

Mathematical Association of America                                  https://maa.org/career-center/

What Do Mathematicians Do?                                               http://www.ams.org/profession/career-info

Careers in Math                                                                        http://weusemath.org/?page_id=143818

Professional Associations 

American Mathematical Society                                           http://www.ams.org

American Statistical Association                                            http://www.amstat.org

Association of Women in Mathematics                                https://awm-math.org/

Casualty Actuarial Society Career Center                            http://www.casact.org/

Computing Research Association                                          http://cra.org

IEEE Computer Society                                                            http://www.computer.org/pubs/computer

Institute of Mathematical Statistics                                      https://imstat.org/

Mathematical Association of America                                 http://www.maa.org

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics                    http://www.nctm.org

Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics                http://www.siam.org

Society of Actuaries                                                                 http://www.soa.org/

IMPORTANT QUALITIES TO INCLUDE ON YOUR RESUME  

• Critical-thinking skills. Mathematicians & Statisticians use logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Problem-solving skills. Mathematicians & Statisticians must develop techniques to overcome problems in data collection and analysis, such as high nonresponse rates, so that they can draw meaningful conclusions.
• Speaking skills. Mathematicians & Statisticians often work in teams, they must be able to orally communicate statistical information, patterns and ideas so that others will understand.
• Writing skills. Mathematicians & Statisticians often need to explain technical matters to persons without their level of statistical expertise or present their data & conclusions in a concise & organized manner.

What Do Employers Look For? (NACE 2025 Job Outlook for Students)

Top 10 Skills Employers Seek on a Candidate’s Resume:

Problem Solving, Teamwork, Written Communication, Taking Initiative, Strong Work Ethic, Technical Skills, Verbal Communication, Flexibility/Adaptability, Analytical/Quantitative, Detail-Oriented

Factors Considered by Employers When Screening Candidates:

Academic Major, Has completed an internship in the industry, Industry experience, Has demonstrated proficiency in competencies, Has completed an internship with the organization, Has held a leadership position, Has been involved in leadership/extracurricular activities, Has held part-time jobs in college to finance education, Has done volunteer work