Some Career Choices for the Applied Mathematics Student

Applied Mathematics majors are required to choose an area of focus that will enhance their knowledge in a particular field of mathematics. In the focus area, students will be exposed to the principles and problems in that area.

Generally, graduates of SU's Applied Mathematics program may either continue their education, study for professional designations, or enter the workforce directly.

Other useful sites:

Mathematical Association of America
Math Teaching and Learning Resources (from the Federal Government)

POSITION EXAMPLES

Actuary
An actuary works to evaluate risk for a particular company and formulate policies that minimize the cost of that risk. Risks such as death, sickness and injury can be especially costly to a company. Actuaries most often work in the insurance industry evaluating and studying life, health, property and/or casualty insurance.

Business Analyst
A business analyst is a communicator between clients and IT departments to determine computer-related solutions to business problems. They also provide analysis and direction in process and data modeling and work with technical designers during implementation model creation.

Database Administrator
Database Administrators (DBAs) work closely with application developers to support application development efforts. A DBA's job is to:

Install database management system (DBMS) software and upgrades.
Design and create a database.
Start up and shut down database services.
Create user accounts and monitor user activities.
Grant database permissions to control data security and data access.
Backup and recover a database in the event of system failure.
Tune a database to optimize database performance.
Manage database network connectivity.
Migrate a database to a new version of the DBMS software.

Education
One of the most obvious career fields for a recent college graduate is education. Education is a broad field itself, ranging from traditional classroom teaching at the secondary and collegiate levels to more creative teaching formats.

Social Science
Social Sciences allow a student to evaluate social statistics: census data, consumer price indices, demographic trends, etc. Students wishing to pursue an advanced degree often enter graduate programs in Sociology or Anthropology.