Career Options

Jobs requiring mathematical skills are regularly listed at the top of the rankings of most desirable and highest-earning jobs (CareerCast Jobs Rated Report, PayScale College Salary Report). The mathematics major prepares students to become quantitative experts in a variety of fields, including secondary and university teaching, mathematical research (for business, government, and the academy), cryptography, finance and economics, statistics and data analysis, and operations research and management consulting.

Mathematics is also an excellent major for quantitatively minded students who want to go into business (see the finance minor), medicine (see the premedical program), or law (see the prelaw minor). Math majors have some of the highest rates of acceptance to graduate schools in all three of these fields.

APU mathematics graduates have gone on to prestigious graduate schools (including University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Riverside; University of Colorado, Boulder; University of Washington; and California State University, Fullerton); accepted choice offers to teach at various secondary schools; been selected for Teach for America and Math for America; and moved into attractive industry positions.

Students preparing for a career in actuarial science, industrial mathematics, or mathematical physics or computer science are encouraged to consider the applied mathematics major.

Careers for Mathematics Majors

• Actuary
• Animator
• Architect
• Attorney
• Biostatistician
• Budget Analyst
• Climatologist
• College Professor
• Computer Scientist
• Cryptanalyst
• Doctor
• Economist
• Electrical Engineer
• Epidemiologist
• Financial Market Analyst
• Math Teacher
• Mathematical Physicist
• Mechanical Engineer
• National Security Analyst
• Operations Research Analyst
• Software Engineer
• Statistician
• Technical Writer
• Urban Planner

Starting Salary¹

The typical starting salary of a math major is $62,900. The typical salary after 10-19 years is $155,000.

Job Titles of People with Mathematics Degrees

• Portfolio Manager, Barclays Global Investors
• Options Trader, Peak6
• Math Educator, Assessment Technology
• Simulation Specialist, Raytheon Missile Systems
• Director of Information and Technical Services, Kansas Electric Power Cooperative
• Program Analyst, Census Bureau
• Director of Institutional Retirement Plans, CPS Investment Advisors
• Computer Consultant, IET Company
• Health Physicist, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Statistician (Medicine), U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
• Senior Actuarial Associate, Manulife Financial
• Major, United States Air Force, United States Strategic Command
• Deputy Director, Division of Math Sciences, National Science Foundation
• Development and Operations Engineer, Amazon
• Senior Systems Engineer, Walt Disney Animation Studios