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Department Chair

Katherine Stevenson, PhD


Live Oak Hall (LO) 1300 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330-8285

Phone: 818-677-2721

Send email

Careers in Math

Mathematics Majors have a great variety of career options in business, education, academia, and government. The professional societies offer a wealth of information on their websites.

Here are some of theÌýmany disciplinesÌýthat Mathematics graduates findÌýchallenging and rewarding employment opportunitiesÌý¾±²Ô:

Use statistics, linear algebra, stochastic modelling and analytical skills to find optimal solutions of complex decision-making problems. Financial modeling, marketing, manufacturing, simulation, and public policy are often involved. Start withÌýÌý(Institute for Operations Research and Management Societies).

Use statistics to predict changes in the marketplace; most commonly applied to finance, investment, insurance, and pension funds. See, for example,ÌýÌýfrom theÌý. Related fields includeÌýEconomicsÌý²¹²Ô»åFinancial Mathematics.

There are lots of options here, including primary, secondary and college. A teaching credential is usually required to teach in a public school, and a Masters degree to teach in community college. See, for example,Ìý.

Learning from data, with the intent of being able to make intelligent predictions based on new data after having received some set of training data. It relies heavily on statistical data analysis, classification, probability theory, graph theory, algorithms, and analysis. Start withÌý,Ìý, and theÌý ACM Job Center

Use statistics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, geometry, learning theory and physics to convert raw data into symbolic form that represents human-readable visual images. It is a multi-disciplinary subject that lies at the interface of math, physics, engineering, neurobiology, and computer science. Start withÌý,ÌýIEEE Careers, theÌýACM Job Center, orÌýÌýRoboticsandÌýArtificial IntelligenceÌýare closely related disciplines.

Use a combination of deterministic (e.g., differential equations) and stochastic theories to develop mathematical descriptions of processes in living organisms. Mathematical biologists work at the interface of multiple disciplines, notably mathematics, biology, computation, physics, and bio-engineering and often work in teams with specialists in other fields. Mathematical Biologists are often Computational Biologists and vice-versa. For more information see theÌý.

Use mathematical models to perform biological experimentsÌýin-silico.ÌýBioinformaticiansÌýdevelop and utilize tools for the storage and retrieval of biological data, often using advanced statistical and computational techniques. For more information see theÌý, andÌý

Perform satellite orbit mission design for NASA and various commercial organizations. Tasks include design and maintenance of satellite orbits, maneuver design, and the specification of satellite orbits to meet specific scientific observational requirements. They may work withÌýSpace Systems AnalystsÌýwho evaluate telemetry data in real time from satellites to determine satellite health, develop satellite command loads, and develop and implement fault recovery procedures in the event of operational failures. Both of these jobs require the types of strong analytical skills that Mathematicians strive to develop. On-the-job-training is usually provided since these skills are not taught in universities. SeeÌýÌýorÌýÌý(AIAA) for more information.

Math ProfessorsÌýare probably most familiar to you as teachers but that is just part of their job. Other responsibilities include doing research and service to the community. The amount of time available to do research will depend on the type of college you teach at. In community colleges there is little to no time for research. In a comprehensive university (like ¿ì»îÁÖÐÔÏ¢) faculty spend the bulk of their time devoted to instruction, typically with only one or two days per week available for research. In a research oriented university (like UCLA) the roles are reversed, with faculty typically teaching one to three classes per year. Thus depending on your particular interests you should be able to find a school that allows the balance that fits your needs. Math Professors may beÌýpureÌýorÌýapplied mathematicians,Ìýapplied mathematical scientists, specialists inÌýmathematics educationor work in one of the disciplines. They often do interdisciplinary research because other researchers value their ability to clearly analyze and explain problems. SeeÌý

Many mathematicians go on to become successfulÌýBusiness consultants,ÌýAttorneys, orÌýPhysicians. It is the analytical skills that you take with you to these new disciplines, though it is often possible to leverage mathematical knowledge as well, particularly operations research, financial mathematics, mathematical modeling, statistics, in these areas.

What Employers Really Want

In a recent survey by the AACU (Assoc. of Amer. Coll. & Univ.) major employers indicated that your major is only secondary. What they really want includes:

  • Ethical judgementÌý²¹²Ô»å integrity (96% of employers agreed)
  • Comfort working with individuals (clients, colleagues, customers) fromÌýdiverse culturesÌý(96%)
  • Intellectual and inter-personal skills that will help them contribute toÌýinnovation in the workplaceÌý(95%)
  • Demonstrated capacity for continuedÌýprofessional developmentÌý(94%)
  • Capacity toÌýthink critically,Ìýcommunicate clearly, &Ìýsolve complex problemsÌýis more important than major (93%)
  • A broad,Ìýinterdisciplinary skill setÌý(93%)
  • Community service (75%)
  • Knowledge of global culture, history, values, religions, and social systems (55%)

As to what they expect you to learn in college they would like to see the same or more of:

  • Ability toÌýanalyze and solve complex problemsÌý(94%)
  • Ability to apply your knowledge toÌýreal-world settingsÌý(94%)
  • Critical thinking/analytical reasoningÌý(93%)
  • EffectiveÌýoralÌýcommunication skills (92%)
  • EffectiveÌýwrittenÌýcommunication skills (92%)
  • Ability toÌýlocate,Ìýorganize, andÌýevaluateÌýinformationÌý(91%)
  • Connect choice and action to ethicsÌý(91%)
  • InnovationÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýcreativityÌýskills (91%)
  • TeamworkÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýcollaborationÌýin diverse settings (89%)
  • SignificantÌýprojectÌýduring college (79%)
  • InternshipÌýduring college (78%)

Mathematics Majors have a great variety of career options in business, education, academia, and government. The professional societies offer a wealth of information on their websites.Ìý Information about these options can be found on the careers link to the left.

For help on planning your schedule please see the undergraduate advisement page, degree planning page, and academic programs pages.

Department Chair

Katherine Stevenson, PhD


Live Oak Hall (LO) 1300 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330-8285

Phone: 818-677-2721

Send email

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