Several years ago, a national poll was conducted to find the most satisfying profession. Among the factors considered were salary, job stress, and working conditions. The highest ranking went to the actuarial profession. Actuaries work for insurance companies and other financial institutions, and are involved in long term financial planning. Most actuaries have an undergraduate major in mathematics, and a knowledge of calculus and statistics is essential for entry into this profession. The Mathematics Departmet offers a specialization in Actuarial Science.
While many mathematics majors go on to teach at various levels, several recent graduates of Michigan State University with mathematics majors have gone to medical school and to law school. In addition, there are jobs for mathematicians in research and development, computer-related industries, and business. The Social Security Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Security Agency all employ large numbers of mathematicians, as do many other branches of federal and state governments.
Michigan State University has one of the largest university student placement services in the nation. According to a recent national survey, students with a bachelor's degree in mathematics had an average starting salary which was higher than all except those with majors in engineering, physics, chemistry, and nursing, and was substantially higher than all majors outside the field of science.
Here are a list of some companies and the jobs for which they have interviewed mathematics majors at Michigan State University: Hewitt Associates - administration consultant; National Security Agency - mathematician; Nippon Motorola Ltd. - design and development engineer; State Farm Insurance - programmer/analyst; Arthur Anderson Co. - financial management consultant; MIT Lincoln Laboratories - research and development; David Taylor Research Center - research scientist; Center for Naval Analysis - operations research; Allstate Insurance - actuarial work; Microsoft Corporation - systems engineer; Doeren Mayhew & Co. - systems engineer; Assured Investment Planners - management trainee; Square D Company - inventory analyst.
Many students do not look beyond a bachelors degree, but those with good ability in mathematics might do well to consider further study. In the field of mathematics, students with above average ability can almost always receive financial support for masters degree and Ph. D. study in the form of an assistantship, and most students find that the compensation from an assistantship is adequate to pay tuition and living expenses while studying for an advanced degree. Nationally, almost all U. S. citizens who are graduate students in mathematics receive "full expense" financial support in the form of an assistantship.
Those who might like further information about what persons with extensive mathematical training actually do besides teaching, might want to look regularly at the web page located at
http://www.siam.org/careers/resources.php
By clicking on "Career Information", and following the various prompts, one has access to a number of profiles of persons whose academic training is mostly mathematical and who currently work in industry. These articles describe both the training of the person involved and the nature of the functions he/she now performs. These articles change monthly.