Actuaries manage risk. This job is consistently rated as one of the top two careers—in terms of job satisfaction, opportunities for advancement, and pay. Most actuaries work in insurance or finance. You progress in the field by passing qualifying exams. Many companies pay you to study for the exams, but you should pass the first (and perhaps the second) exam before applying for jobs.
Actuarial Professional Society Page
http://www.beanactuary.org/
This web site has information of what actuaries do. In particular you should
look under the “College Students” tab for more information on what actuaries do
and how to prepare for a career in actuarial science while in college
(“Preparing for the Future”).
Operations research (OR) is a scientific approach to analyzing problems and making decisions. Much of this work is done using analytical and numerical techniques to develop and manipulate mathematical and computer models of organizational systems. To work in OR, you typically obtain a bachelors degree in mathematics, followed by a Masters in OR. Operations Researchers obtain jobs working for government and policy agencies, or industries such as airline, pharmaceutical, logistics, and financial services.
Operations Research Professional Society
http://www.informs.org/
Operations Research: The Science of Better
http://www.scienceofbetter.org/
This web site gives many description of real world problem solved using
operations research.
Modeling Competition
http://www.comap.com/undergraduate/contests/mcm/
The OR professional organization sponsors a modeling competition every February.
The 2005 competition problems were “Flood Planning,” “Tollbooths,” and
“Nonrenewable Resources.”
If you want to work in an industrial setting, you might consider a mathematics major followed by a Professional Science Masters. The PSM is a relatively new degree, funded by the Sloan Foundation, that partners coursework with industrial experience. In mathematics, there are PSM programs in the areas of Financial Mathematics, Industrial Mathematics, Mathematical Sciences, and Mathematics for Entrepreneurship.
Professional Science Master’s http://www.sciencemasters.com/
SIAM Professional Society
http://www.siam.org/careers/career1.htm
There are lots of opportunities for applied mathematicians, not all requiring an
advanced degree and not all in industry. The Society of Industrial and Applied
Mathematics (SIAM) is a good source of information. In particular you should
look at the page for students:
http://www.siam.org/students/career.htm.
The Mathematical Sciences Career Information site is a joint project of the AMS (American Mathematics Scoiety), MAA (Mathematical Association of America) and SIAM. It offers specific information about non-academic employment. http://www.ams.org/careers/
Statisticians provide crucial guidance in determining what information is reliable and which predictions can be trusted. They work in a variety of fields such as medicine, government, education, agriculture, business, and law. There are multiple job opportunities and a high demand for statisticians. Most jobs require an advanced degree in statistics.
Statistical Professional Society http://www.amstat.org/careers/index.html
Today’s fastest growing fields are where mathematics, computer science, and biology or medicine intersect. Mathematical biology uses mathematics to build models of biological systems. These models are then used to address questions that may be difficult or impossible to address otherwise. Many biology programs are targeting math majors who have the needed quantitative skills. Most jobs require an advanced degree.
Florida State website http://www.csit.fsu.edu/HHP/employ.html
The National Security Agency is the country's leading single employer of mathematicians, with positions at all degree levels: Bachelors, Masters, Ph.D. These mathematicians design and analyze complex algorithms and express difficult cryptographic problems in mathematical terms. There are also jobs for math majors in a variety of other government agencies including defense, social security, internal revenue, and the census bureau.
National Security Agency http://www.nsa.gov/programs/employ/index.html
Middle school and high school mathematics teachers are in high demand, and our graduates continue to be successful in obtaining teaching positions. Achieving a Masters degree in mathematics or mathematics education will enable you to teach at many community colleges, while a Ph.D. will prepare you to teach at the college level.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (K-12) http://www.nctm.org/
American Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges http://www.amatyc.org/