Careers and Opportunities

There are many things to do with a math major. We list a few sites below that indicate careers making use of math skills. You also might want to check our Alumni Network to see what prior BC math majors have ended up doing.

These pages and links are sponsored by professional organizations in the mathematical sciences and related fields.

Remember that the Career Center at Boston College has a wealth of information to assist you in identifying likely career paths and opportunities.

BC Career Center

The American Mathematical Society (AMS)

The AMS maintains an excellent website for professional mathematicians. Best of all, they've put together a helpful brochure called "Resources for Undergraduates in Mathematics".

The Mathematical Association of America (MAA)

The Mathematical Association of America has a section on Students and Careers.

The National Security Agency (NSA)

The NSA is a leading employer of mathematicians. "As an NSA mathematician, you may find yourself designing and analyzing complex algorithms, or expressing difficult cryptographic problems in mathematical terms, and then applying both your art and science to find a solution ... or demonstrating that a solution cannot be found, given certain computational limitations and reasonable time limits." Learn more at their Career Center site.

The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM)

Have you ever wondered what a mathematician working in industry or the government does all day? SIAM has already thought about this! Take a look at the career area of their website. Read their Mathematics Careers Bulletin Board, featuring career profiles of mathematicians in nonacademic positions.

The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)

INFORMS has devoted a page to helping you decide whether a Career in Operations Research/Management Science is Right for You.

The Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM)

The Association for Women in Mathematics was founded in 1971. The purpose of the association is to encourage women to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences. The activities of the association include programs for undergraduate and graduate students, research mathematicians, and teachers at all levels. The association lists a number of career resources.

The American Statistical Association (ASA)

ASA is a professional scientific and educational society that hopes to promote excellence in the application of statistical science. This group maintains a page that "presents an overview of the field of statistics and the possibilities and opportunities for those who study statistics."

The Society of Actuaries (SOA)

The SOA site is a clearinghouse for information on all areas of the actuarial profession. On their related site www.BeAnActuary.org, you can find out whether you're suited for an actuarial career, find out how to become an actuary (e.g., find out what classes will best prepare you to enter the profession), find out what can you expect on the job, and find out where to look for employment.

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

Founded in 1947, ACM is the world's first educational and scientific computing society.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)

Founded in 1920, the mission of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is to provide the vision and leadership necessary to ensure a mathematics education of the highest quality for all students. This organization provides resources for elementary, middle, and high school teachers of mathematics. It has taken the lead in changing mathematics education for the better.

National Education Association (NEA)

NEA is America's oldest and largest organization committed to advancing the cause of public education. Founded in 1857 in Philadelphia and now headquartered in Washington, D.C., NEA proudly claims more than 2.5 million members who work at every level of education, from preschool to university graduate programs. If you are interested in jobs with the NEA or employment as an educator, you'll find information within their web site. You'll also find links to the most popular education employment resources online.
 


If you'd prefer to do some of your own research, just go to Google and ask either "What Can I do with a Math Major" or "What Can I do with a Math Degree." You'd be surprised at the large number of detailed documents that are available on the web that will be helpful to you -- many have been put together by other educational institutions and are impressively extensive.

AMS Resources for Undergraduates

The American Mathematical Society maintains a webpage with resources for undergraduate students interested in mathematics. In addition, it provides a service called "Headlines and Deadlines for Students," providing e-mail notification of mathematics news and of upcoming deadlines that are of special interest to both graduate and undergraduate students. These e-mail notifications will be issued about once a month, and when there's special news. Imminent deadlines will be included in these e-mails, which will link to a web page that's a centralized source of information relevant to students and faculty advisors. You can sign up by visiting the web page.

MAA Math Classifieds

The Mathematical Association of America is proud to announce its new careers website. In addition to the academic positions already available on the MAA website, this new site will offer bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. level students a central place to find positions in a variety of industries that will utilize their mathematics degrees. Job seekers can search jobs, post resumes, and sign up for customized job alerts at no charge. Visit http://www.mathclassifieds.org