Career options with Maths? (1 Viewer)

[AAEldar]

Make sure you're strong at maths because I can assure you everyone feels like dying in second year maths. It's a very high step up.

I cannot echo this enough, the step up is huge and if you're not on top of the work it's very hard to understand what goes on and do well.

 

[bladeys]

I cannot echo this enough, the step up is huge and if you're not on top of the work it's very hard to understand what goes on and do well.

i thought you were a first year?

 

[AAEldar]

i thought you were a first year?

I'm doing second year subjects though, which I think made it more difficult for me but it was certainly a huge benefit.

For anyone who has the opportunity to do second year maths subjects in their first year I'd urge them to try it.

 

[bladeys]

I'm doing second year subjects though, which I think made it more difficult for me but it was certainly a huge benefit.

For anyone who has the opportunity to do second year maths subjects in their first year I'd urge them to try it.

nice! ill post on your wall

 

[kaz1]

career and maths don't really go hand in hand

 

[Shadowdude]

career and maths don't really go hand in hand

Well, I'd put that because there's no job out there that's "Mathematician".

There are jobs out there which require mathematical skill and don't have the title "Mathematician". There's tons of data now, so for Statistics at least - you can be damn sure of a job there.

 

[Trebla]

A lot of the stuff mentioned in the previous posts are just speculation. As a graduate job seeker, I've definitely come across heaps of departments in organisations which prefer people who study mathematics over others. Some examples below:

Defence has a mathematics area which assists in modelling processes - see "Broad Areas of Work"
http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/grads/

Bureau of Meterology looks for physics/applied mathematics graduates only - see the second dotpoint of "You need"
http://www.bom.gov.au/careers/grad-met.shtml

Derivatives trading organisations like Optiver/IMC/Liquid Capital also prefer mathematics graduates over others and it shouldn't be a surprise that they make many applicants sit a challenging math test in the recruitment process (here is a current advertisement from Eclipse Options http://www.eclipseoptions.com/PDF/Trainee Trader - May 12.pdf - not the strongest example but it should still support the point)

I've also attached past job advertisements for a Citi graduate program and a mathematics internship from BOC below - both of which target mathematics graduates over others if you read it carefully.

There are HEAPS of others out there that may not necessarily have a preference for mathematics graduates but definitely seek the quantitative/analytical type of personality that mathematics graduates tend to have (e.g. many banks, government research organisations, market intelligence...etc). I sometimes find it irritating that many perceive that teaching and research are the only pathways with a maths only degree, when I have seen for myself as a graduate jobseeker an abundance of opportunities out there...

 

[Shadowdude]

Optiver... ah, them.

I went to their stall during open day and they told me about "The Exam". 1 shot only. If you don't pass - you can never ever apply again... NEVER...

EVER

EVER


And it's all mental arithmetic stuff too.

 

[Trebla]

Optiver... ah, them.

I went to their stall during open day and they told me about "The Exam". 1 shot only. If you don't pass - you can never ever apply again... NEVER...

EVER

EVER


And it's all mental arithmetic stuff too.

I did their test and passed

I think the reason they do this is because in the competitive trading world there are no second chances. Plus, with a starting salary of 100K you can expect the competition to be really fierce...

 

[Shadowdude]

I did their test and passed

I think the reason they do this is because in the competitive trading world there are no second chances. Plus, with a starting salary of 100K you can expect the competition to be really fierce...

Hey, nice.

How is it anyway? A couple of friends (and I'll admit myself) were thinking of trying out for it.

 

[Trebla]

Hey, nice.

How is it anyway? A couple of friends (and I'll admit myself) were thinking of trying out for it.

It's very tough to say the least. Their exam round consists of 3 different tests which are all multiple choice.

The first one is pure arithmetic with no calculator and they've designed the scoring system such that you get penalised with negative marks for a wrong answer or skipping a question (i.e. you have to do the questions in order). Basically make sure you're quick and accurate at doing your operations especially on fractions and decimals and know mental shortcuts in simplifying and recognising equivalent forms of the same number. Speed and accuracy is key. No one I know has ever finished the test though.

A typical example would be like: 0.3 x 0.12
A) 360/1000
B) 0.36
C) 9/2500
D) 3.6
E) 27/750

The second test is much easier and is more problem solving again using mental arithmetic. Most people finish this one within the time limit.

The third test is a killer which is basically recognising the next term in a sequence and this is testing your ability to recognise patterns. Here, time is not an issue but moreso trying to figure out the patterns which are often difficult to find.

A typical example would be to find the next term in {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23,...}
A) 25
B) 27
C) 29
D) 31
E) 32

 

[Shadowdude]

And you passed that... hmm.

So what happens if you pass it? They offer you something - like an interview? Next stage of applications?

 

[Trebla]

Yep, next stage is first round interview which also tests your ability to think on the spot. Good luck!

 

[Shadowdude]

Good luck? Thanks, Trebla. I won't try out for... a few years though.

I was playing a game of '400' with some friends - basically you 'call' how many 'tricks' you can win at the start of each round. And of the 4 players, the 'calls' must sum to at least 11 or it's a reshuffle.

The calls were: 3, 2, 3, 2.

And then they called reshuffle. And I stopped them and was like "wait, why are we reshuffling?" and they said "the calls didn't sum to 11".

And then I said: "Yes, it does... 3, 2, 3, 2... it's 12, isn't it?"

and then they blank stared me and then i was like "OHHHHHHHHHH oops sorry"

 

[1to1 Tutor]

Mathematics is not everyone’s cup of tea, we reckon. If you think that you are good at mathematics and enjoy the subject. Here are top 5 careers that you can pursue if you are good at mathematics.
1. Be a Statistician
2. Be a Computer Programmer
3. Be an Actuary
4. Be a Business Analyst
5. Be a Mathematics Professor
All this talk about numbers, analysis, theorems, data, information and more has got our brains saturated by now. If yours haven't, you definitely need to check out these top career options. Good luck!
Thank you!

 

[Shadowdude]

check out those "maths ad(d)s" magazines that AMSI produces

they're pretty good. they are cut outs of job ads that employ maths grads

 

[seanieg89]

Well, I'd put that because there's no job out there that's "Mathematician".

There are jobs out there which require mathematical skill and don't have the title "Mathematician". There's tons of data now, so for Statistics at least - you can be damn sure of a job there.

Err...yes there is. What do you think academia is?

 

[Shadowdude]

Err...yes there is. What do you think academia is?

"Lecturer", "Professor", "Research Associate", "Post-Doctoral Fellow", etc.

 

[seanieg89]

All of which fall into the class of being a mathematician. For that matter you could say that there are no economists, physicists, chemists in the world.

 

[Shadowdude]

All of which fall into the class of being a mathematician. For that matter you could say that there are no economists, physicists, chemists in the world.

My point is that most jobs that use mathematics aren't labelled "Mathematician". They're labelled other things like risk analyst or whatever.


You say 'economist' and people understand. Same thing for physicists and chemists. You say mathematician, and that doesn't exactly make as much sense as the others. You'd usually have to clarify.