What Can You Do with a Math Degree?
For those with an analytical mind and a knack for working with numbers, a degree in Mathematics can open the door to lucrative careers across a number of industries. From scientific research and education to working in the fast-paced corporate world, mathematics is a highly-diverse field that has a great potential for future growth.
Due to the diversity of the career paths associated with mathematics, we have put together the following table to help you get a broader understanding of the various job options available. In the information below, you will also find the median annual salaries for 40 different math careers:
| Job Title | Job Summary |
Median Annual Wage |
| Director of Analytics | Supervises a corporate team, and works to identify patterns within data to find risks and opportunities for their clients. |
$123,871 |
| Operations Research Manager | Interprets, tracks, and analyzes key metrics to help a business adjust its strategy in order to improve performance. |
$75,196 |
| Senior Statistician | Tasked with gathering statistical information and providing analysis for their employers. |
$97,922 |
| Professor, Postsecondary | Teaches students in the postsecondary setting, and performs research in order to advance their chosen field. |
$69,576 |
| Actuarial Consultant | Advises their clients on the most appropriate actions to take when considering financial or insurance decisions. |
$101,924 |
| Investment Banker | Performs valuation analyses and participates in all stages of their client’s transaction processes. |
$121,674 |
| Risk Manager | Deals with financial or material risks and works directly with a company to provide risk consulting. |
$90,264 |
| Actuary | Serves as an analyst in an insurance company that helps determine the premiums and risks. |
$106,125 |
| Senior Business Analyst | Gathers and analyzes information from a variety of sources to identify business opportunities and dangers. |
$86,196 |
| Mathematician | Performs advanced mathematical equations and uses math principles to solve real-world problems for organizations. |
$85,829 |
| Senior Actuarial Analyst | Uses high-level calculations to help companies properly evaluate gains and losses of proposed business plans. |
$94,222 |
| Research Scientist | Works primarily to gather knowledge and understand the research within their specialized field. |
$83,311 |
| Research Analyst, Operations | Responsible for conducting and analyzing operations research for their organization. |
$88,197 |
| Economist | Advises businesses or government organizations in the adoption of financial policies. |
$94,802 |
| SAS Programmer | Typically works to develop maintain, and validate data structure and software. |
$89,061 |
| Asset Manager | Responsible for the management, procurement, and valuation of a company’s property, data, or documents. |
$78,193 |
| Statistician | Mathematics professional that collects, organizes and interprets numerical data for a company to utilize. |
$84,257 |
| Investment Consultant | Advisory position that is responsible for helping clients manage their portfolios and establishing new client relationships. |
$85,809 |
| Computer Systems Analyst | Uses computers and related systems to help a company achieve maximum accuracy and efficiency. |
$71,158 |
| Investment Advisor | Assists clients with goal setting and other financial tasks, including budgets, estate management, and tax returns. |
$77,064 |
| Assistant Professor, Postsecondary | Helps with developing curriculum as well as advising and instructing students in their specific field. |
$69,433 |
| Actuarial Assistant | Analyzes statistical data dealing with financial risk for a variety of different organizations. |
$71,625 |
| Actuarial Analyst | Calculates and uses financial data to measure risk for an organization, such as an insurance company or financial services business. |
$76,266 |
| Real Estate Appraiser | Responsible for inspecting properties and calculating estimates of the property’s value. |
$59,410 |
| Investment Analyst | Works within an investment group to help with the review and approval process for various investments. |
$79,755 |
| Risk Analyst | Works primarily with banks or insurance companies to verify and analyze data used to calculate risks and outcomes. |
$74,963 |
| Business Analyst | Examines data to help an organization make internal departments more efficient. |
$66,604 |
| Budget Analyst | Responsible for providing analysis and assisting a company during the budget development process. |
$64,880 |
| Data Analyst | Uses data to acquire information, design reports for organizations, and meet the needs of their customers. |
$68,584 |
| Entry-Level Actuarial Analyst | Works under senior actuaries within an organization to help perform risk assessments for a variety of businesses. |
$63,649 |
| Insurance Appraiser, Auto Damage | Responsible for assessing damage to automobiles and appraising the repair costs. |
$59,173 |
| Branch Manager, Banking | Leads a team of bank employees and makes sure that relationships remain strong between their organization and clients. |
$58,943 |
| Cost Estimator | Works with a company to predict the manufacturing price for a product using analytical and technical methods. |
$60,085 |
| Meteorologist | Utilizes numerical and historical data to make observations and predictions about the weather. |
$60,558 |
| Stock Broker | Performs financial services for their organization’s clients that are related to stocks and securities. |
$69,500 |
| Research Associate | Organizes statistics, creates scientific documents, and performs extensive research for a variety of industries. |
$59,688 |
| Mathematics Teacher | Develops lesson plans and engages students in a variety of school settings to help them learn math skills. |
$50,665 |
| Biller, Medical Office | Responsible for preparing bills and invoices for medical facilities to submit to health insurance companies. |
$35,360 |
| Personal Banker | Helps individual clients effectively manage their money to balance financial risks and returns. |
$36,733 |
| Head Teller | Responsible for a variety of duties within a financial institution, including customer service, daily reporting, and handling customer finances. |
$32,406 |
*Data sourced through Payscale.com
What can you do with a Mathematics Degree?
While you may not find a job application specifically for “mathematics”, the skills that you will learn in this degree program will prepare you for professional work in a wide range of industries. After graduation, you may find employment in business, research, education, meteorology, or the financial world.
As you can see from the information above, the annual salary for math professionals can vary widely. While some entry-level positions offer median wages near the national average, some professional mathematics careers have annual salaries that can exceed six-figures! When planning out your future career goals, it is important to keep in mind that experience and educational level can play a large role in the pay that you can expect to receive.
What is a Mathematics Degree?
Mathematics is a highly diverse field that covers a number of scientific studies. In order to find employment in a professional industry, it is typically expected that you will have earned at least a bachelor’s level degree in mathematics. For many high-level mathematics positions, a graduate degree may be required.
Throughout the course of your Mathematics degree program, you will have the opportunity to specialize within a degree concentration. These specializations may include:
- Mathematics Education
- Applied and Computational Mathematics
- Statistics
- Mathematical Biology
- Operations Research
- Economics
Over the last several years, many accredited universities have begun offering an extensive selection of online mathematics degrees. This could be a great option for you if you are in need of a flexible educational schedule in order to balance your career and family obligations.
Mathematics Career Outlook
Mathematics is an integral part of many different industries, and this will continue to be the case as advanced technologies and a changing marketplace affect the world of business and research. With the high demand for skilled math professionals, the career outlook for those in this field is overwhelmingly positive.
When researching math careers, it is helpful to check out reputable online resources such as the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. For example, the BLS predicts that mathematicians will see a 27% occupational increase by 2029. Those interested in careers as actuaries or statisticians will see 18% and 33% growth respectively – much higher than the national average across all occupations!
A Mathematics degree program can provide you with a marketable skill set that is essential throughout the workforce. Across a variety of professional industries, math is at the core of business success and scientific research. Whether you want to work within finance or contribute to the field of science, a Mathematics degree is an excellent starting point to embark on a lucrative, challenging career path!
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