Math in the Media: The Best jobs of 2015?

I keep telling you....  Math pays!! 

In the Business section of the online newspaper The Huffington Post sits an article by Jennie Che detailing the Best Jobs of 2015, a report prepared each year by CareerCast, ranking the top 200 jobs by work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook. 

And lo and behold, mathematics permeates most of the list, with the actual job of Mathematician, sitting at number 3 (Actuarial Scientist tops the list, with Statistics sitting at number 4).  The HuffPost article

These Are The 10 Best Jobs Of 2015

is a summary of the longer article posted directly in the CareerCast website:

The Best Jobs of 2015

(always go to the source, right?)   Personally, I've held position both in academia and in industry (NASA Goddard and Lincoln Laboratory, as well as in a private tech firm.)  All were great work environments, with interesting people, work conditions, and colleagues.  I certainly cannot argue with the conclusion that math is a great field to play in.

Give the article a read!  It's good stuff.

Math in the Media: Return on Investment in a Math Degree?

So I would up devoting my life to the study of Mathematics because I absolutely love the subject.  It is inherently beautiful, surprisingly counter-intuitive, and seems to exhibit a logical framework for all that is in a way that I find ever intriguing.

However..., the study of math at a high level is also quite lucrative!!

Here is an article from Bloomberg Business Week, from June:

Undergrad Business Majors Don't Get the Career Payback Math Majors Do

You must love this title from my perspective.  The article highlights a measure of the lifetime worth of different college majors in term of a return on investment of time and effort.  Some majors are harder than others, I am sure.  And why they decided to include math and computer science together is a mystery to me (perhaps that is how the business world sees us?  As the studiers of logic?

In any case, they make a good case for choosing math as a major while here in the Ivory Tower. Call that reason number..., what... 132 in the countably infinite number of reasons why someone can benefit from choosing math as a major?  (BTW, have you heard that over 80% of statistics are made up on the spot?)

Give it a read.  I will await your change-of-major form....  ;-)

Best Job out there? - Yes, its Mathematician!

So what is the best job in the US these days?

The Wall Street Journal reported on a ranking of professions from the site CareerCast.com.  They released a study this week that evaluates 200 professions to determine the best and worst according to five criteria inherent to every job: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress.

Bottom of the list:  Lumberjack, dairy farmer and taxi driver.

Top of the list:  Mathematician (and actuary and statistician, to round out the top three) with a median annual income of over $94000, low stress, and VERY CREATIVE work (okay, the last bit is an editorial opinion.  But one of the people highlighted in the article does have very interesting projects to work on....  jussayn'.)

Give the article a read.  See where your dream job lies:

Doing the Math to Find the Good Jobs

 Personally, I agree with the top ranking.  It is a good gig!

Most Valuable College Majors? Think MATH!!

Forbes, the American magazine of all things business, has just published a listing of the top 15 most valuable college majors.  The listing comes from the PayScale's massive compensation database and job growth projections through 2020 from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Majors are ranked in terms of salary and career prospects. Indeed, rankings are by median starting pay, median mid-career pay (at least 10 years experience), percentage growth in pay and projected growth of job opportunities.  See  here:

15 Most Valuable College Majors 

And lo and behold?  Check out number's 10 and 11, respectively Applied Mathematics and Mathematics. Median starting salaries fresh out of college are $52,600 and $47,000, and mid-career $89,900 and $96,000, again both respectively.

Of course, at least from my perspective, Biomedical Engineering tops the list, as do a few other engineering fields.

But can you imagine the market value of an engineering or natural science degree AND a math degree? The sky's the limit, no?

Talk to me if interested....

Employment Op: Business Intel and Math

People often ask me what kinds of jobs math majors can get other than science applications or as an actuary. Really, the answer is: All Kinds. Usually, one needs a good hook in an outside area to get into the interview. But then the analytical skill set of a mathematician can shine. However, sometimes recruiters simply understand well that someone skilled in mathematical analysis possesses the ability to learn most skills very quickly. These recruiters are willing to take a math major who can learn on the job, quickly and efficiently.

I just got this request from a recruiter. Read it and go for it. Sounds like an interesting career:

Thorogood Associates is currently recruiting college seniors for full time business intelligence consulting positions. We are contacting you, as the [Director of Undergraduate Studies] of the Mathematics Department, because we think you may know students that would be good candidates for this position.

As a business information consultancy, Thorogood helps its clients use their data to make better business decisions. Our work has both a business and technology aspect. We don’t necessarily look for education or experience in both of these areas but rather an interest and an aptitude that will allow a candidate to be successful in this type of work.

We are seeking candidates that have excellent problem solving skills, leadership qualities, and initiative. Candidates must be willing to take responsibility for the achievement of results, have self-confidence, and be energetic and friendly.

If you know of any students that have the qualities that would allow them to be successful in this position, please let them know about this opportunity. They can apply for this position via J-Connect. Applications are due on January 30^th, 2012. We will be conducting on-campus interviews at JHU on February 7^th, 2012. Any questions can be sent to USRecruitment@thorogood.com.

Check them out at: www.thorogood.com