There is an old story about a mathematics professor who meets up with a former student 10 years after the student graduated. The professor is wearing the same old jacket he always wore. The student is wearing beautiful new clothes and driving a Rolls Royce. The Professor says:
"You were the worst student I ever taught. How come you have done so well for yourself?"
The Student replies:
"I went into the used car business. Now I buy a car for £1,000 then I sell it for £2,000 and there’s my 10 per cent".
In my job as Head of Admissions to mathematics, I am frequently asked whether doing a mathematics degree will reduce a students chances of getting a good, well-paid job. After all, in over 100 universities there exists an incredible range of subjects. Many universities now offer ‘vocational’ courses, wouldn’t it be better to choose one of those? Isn’t that what employers are looking for?
My answer to all these questions is "No" and I will try to explain the apparent paradox that lies behind the study of hard academic subjects. Mathematics is an extremely hard degree to study. It requires a high level of rigour in thought and an appreciation of logic in argument. Certainly this is challenging and students occasionally wonder what they have let themselves in for. But after three or four years of this, students are usually amazed at how far they have come in their ability to analyse difficult problems and to focus on the heart of the difficulties.
It is precisely these qualities that many employers seek. It turns out that although the actual nature of the mathematics you study may not be directly relevant (although often it is), the fact that you have come through such a hard course has made you very employable. I am happy to say that this is not just fanciful thinking. We have seen year after year, this same story being replayed.
We have a Careers Officer in our university who occasionally comes along to our faculty meetings. I call him Mr Pie-Chart because he always brings along lots of pie-charts to illustrate to us how our former students are doing. He must think that, because we are all mathematicians, he had better turn on the stat-chat. Usually, we all end up totally bewildered. In our most recent meeting, I asked him whether we can go on saying that it is true that mathematicians are very employable across a wide range of careers. He replied an emphatic "Yes".
Having said all of this however, I do recommend that students consider looking seriously at "maths with minor" degrees. Most universities offer an interesting range of these. The old favourites for minors are computing, philosophy or physics. But there are usually more vocational minors on offer such as management, finance or even environmental science. On top of that, it is usually possible to take ‘free’ options within the system to keep alive vocational ambitions.
In our experience, one of the most challenging yet rewarding degrees is a four year degree which includes one year in Europe or North America. Many of our students tell us how our interviews have been taken up discussing the student’s year abroad. Generally, it can be useful in job applications to have something interesting besides the course titles you have studied. I would guess that about one half of mathematics degree students do a ‘with’ option as part of their degree.
It may happen that a lingering doubt remains about the nature of final employment. Well I have been amazed at the range of careers achieved by our own graduates. It is true that a mathematics degree opens the door to high-finance type careers like banking, insurance, actuarial or accountancy work, and it is still true that these are some of the most highly paid careers on offer. But there are many surprises. For example, both marketing and personnel work are popular destinations for our graduates.
When it comes down to it, the best paid and most fulfilling jobs require creative thinking. I will give you a daft example. A former head of personnel in the Bank of England tells the story of a test he used to give during interviews. Candidates were given a pad of paper with a column of figures on the first page and asked to copy the figures onto the second page. Most keep flicking back increasing the chance of a mistake but a few would rip off the first page and lay it next to the second to make the task easier and reduce the chance of a mistake. Which ones do you think made the best impression? I find, time and again, that mathematics graduates develop this skill of creative thinking.
Finally, let’s talk teaching. Many students are first turned on to mathematics through the inspiration of a good teacher. There is a special reward in being able to communicate a difficult subject and seeing your own interest passed onto others. These days, teaching is better paid than you might think. A good degree in mathematics could find you as head of department five years after graduating. If you are wavering between a BEd with maths and a BSc, my personal advice would be to go for the BEd only if you are completely sure that teaching is your future. The better alternative is often to follow the BSc then take the PGCE afterwards.
