Career
Opportunities
in Mathematics
and Statistics
The American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Mathematical Association of America both have a list of career profiles of over one hundred working mathematicians. For Undergraduate Internet Mathematics Resources check out the following websites:
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From the MAA |
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From the Math Forum at Drexel University |
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From the Mathematics Archives |
Note that some of the links on these pages overlap. There are also student pages located on the Canadian Mathematics Society website.
There are many sites with job listings, some specifically for mathematicians. This can be useful for ideas about careers in mathematics and to see what is out there.
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Math-Jobs lists jobs in various countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom |
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Monsteris a general career network. |
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CareerOwl is a Canadian site. |
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HotJobs |
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Techies |
Also CanLearn Interactive is a government career planning website. A useful feature is the online career counselor where you can look at previous inquiries or ask your own question.
In addition, the following articles attempt to answer the questions Why Study Math? and What Do Mathematicians Do?
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Working Your Degree in Mathematics |
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Careers in Applied Mathematics & Computational Sciences |
Finally, "Women in Mathematics" is a website devoted to resources for women in mathematics, from the Association for Women in Mathematics.
The unprecedented growth of computer processing capabilities, information science, and technology has transformed the way people live, work, learn and do business. Even the everyday aspects of these activities have become much more quantitative and data oriented than ever before. Because numerical methods are essential to sustaining this transformation, statistics, the discipline devoted to the collection, organization, display and interpretation of data has been at the very core of the new information age.
Statisticians use quantitative abilities, statistical knowledge, and communication skills to work on many challenging problems, such as:
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Estimating the safety and studying the economics of nuclear power plants andalternative energy sources (at a utility company, research laboratory, the Nuclear Regulatory commission, or the Department of Energy) |
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Evaluating the environmental impact of air, water, and soil pollutants (at a research laboratory,commercial environmental clean-up firm, or the Environmental Protection Agency) |
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Designing and analyzing studies to determine if new drugs and medical devices are safeand effective (at a pharmaceutical company, medical research center, or the Food and Drug Administration) |
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Estimating the unemployment rate in the United States (at the Bureau of Labor Statistics) |
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Analyzing consumer demand for products and services (at a consumer marketing firm, corporation, or consulting firm) |
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Designing studies for and analyzing data from agricultural experiments to increase productivity and yield (at an agricultural college or agribusiness corporation) |
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Helping scientists and future scientists collect and analyze data to create information and develop new statistical methodology (at a university statistics, mathematics, biostatistics, business, ecology, or psychology department) |
What Fields Employ Statisticians?
Agriculture || Astronomy || Biology || Chemistry || Computer Science
|| Demography || Ecology || Economics || Education || Engineering
|| Epidemiology || Finance || Forestry || Genetics ||
Health Science || Insurance || Law || Manufacturing || Marketing ||
Medicine || Pharmacology || Physics || Political Science || Psychology
|| Public Health || Safety || Sociology || Sports || Telecommunications
|| Zoology
Useful Resources:
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Amstat Online, contains information on the statistics profession, job postings, continuingeducation, workshops, seminars, and professional development opportunities. |
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The Undergraduate Statistics Education Initiative, contains information on undergraduate programs in the statistical sciences and offers profiles of statisticians at various levels of industry, academia, and government. |
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Schools Offering Degrees in Statistics contain contact information for the school, what degrees are offered, and a brief description of the program(s). |
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Amstat News is the monthly membership magazine of the American Statistical Association and covers industry events, membership news, and "Career Corner" articles. Periodically, the entire September issue is devoted to Careers in Statistics. |
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STATS: The Magazine for Students of Statistics is published three times per year and features stories, career information, student experiences, and humor. This magazine is included in an annual student membership. |
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Chance Magazine is published
quarterly and is a general interest magazine with articles and
departments featuring timely and entertaining material on the
world of statistics. The Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies (COPSS) Web site provides career snapshots and profiles. |
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Committee on Career Development |
The American Statistical Association (ASA) provides interested individuals with other brochures and publications, such as:
