Your Career with
an Arts Degree
Careers with
Mathematics
Mathematics graduates
and the employment market
Graduates of Mathematics acquire a wide range of skills and qualities that are valuable
in many professions. e combination of numerate and literate skills is highly sought
aer by many sectors of employment. ese skills include:
• Ability to think rationally and solve complex
quantitative problems
• Ability to process complex data reliably and
construct and use mathematical models
• Ability to understand and adhere to rules of
evidence
• High level IT and numerical skills
• Communication skills and ability to explain and
communicate ideas and results eectively
• Appreciation and understanding of the complexity
of events and processes
• Produce logical arguments supported by evidence
• Communication skills – oral and wrien
• Self-discipline, self-direction, independence of
mind and initiative alongside an ability to work
with others
Source: “Degrees of Skill: Student Employability Proles”
e Higher Education Academy.
www.nuigalway.ie/careers/arts
*Mathmatics_Layout 1 17/04/2013 15:17 Page 1
Your
Your
Dream
Dream
Job
Job
Typical jobs for
Mathematics graduates
Mathematics graduates find employment in diverse fields.
Here are some of the most popular career destinations for
our Mathematics graduates:
Career Destinations of our Mathematics Graduates
It is useful to know what fellow graduates have done after obtaining their degree at NUI Galway.
The following are some of the roles our Mathematics graduates took up after graduation:
• Graduate Programme, Bank of Scotland, Ireland
• Call Centre, GE Money Clare
• Museum Assistant, Knock Museum, Co. Mayo
• SAS Consultant, Base 3 Systems, UK
• Analyst Graduate Programme, Bank of Ireland, Dublin
• GIFT Programme, Fidelity Investments, Galway
• Computer Technician, Dell
• Insurance Advisor, Ark Life, Dublin
• Trainee Actuary, Rolfe and Nolan, London
• Financial Work, Mercers, Dublin
• Trainee Accountant, Deloitte and Touche
Source: NUI Galway First Destinations Survey
Accountant
l
Statistician
l
Actuary
l
Risk Analyst
Trader
l
Banker
l
Tax Analyst
l
Investment Analyst
Software programmer
l
Financial Adviser/Planner
Data Analyst
l
Informatics Scientist
l
Technical Writer
Management Consultant
l
Teacher/Mathematics Lecturer
Boosting your employability as a Mathematics Graduate
Many Mathematics students pursue a degree in maths simply because they are good at mathematics.
When choosing a career path it is important to consider what your interests are. A maths degree will be
highly valued by most employers and for a variety of careers such as business, finance, IT, health,
government, education, research, sport, gaming, security, bioinformatics, genetics, digital imaging and
many other options.
All these careers require the analytical, data processing, accuracy skills, and high level IT skills, of which a
Mathematics degree is excellent preparation.
Work experience is also a key issue and any experience you have to add to your CV will be a bonus.
Volunteering is also an excellent way of adding experience to your CV.
The Career Development Centre at NUI Galway has some reference books that may help find work
experience and some of the websites listed at the end of this leaflet also offer information on job
opportunities.
There are some publications that may help keep you up-to-date. These publications also have many
advertisements from companies and consultancies and so can help also with job search and may be
available to reference in the Careers library.
Note: Further qualifications may be needed for certain positions. This list is a sample of positions available.
Statistician
Management
Consultant
Trader
Actuary
Banker
Tax
Analyst
Investm
Analy
Accountant
Risk
Analyst
Teacher
*Mathmatics_Layout 1 17/04/2013 15:17 Page 2
Your
Dream
Job
What Postgraduate Courses do
Mathematics Graduates do?
For certain career choices, employers may look for candidates
with further qualifications and training. Our Mathematics
graduates frequently choose one of the following postgraduate
programmes at NUI Galway:
Postgraduate Diploma in Education
MA (Mathematics/ Mathematical Science)
Higher Diploma in Business Studies
Postgrad Diploma/ MA Digital Media
Higher Diploma Applied Science (Software Design and Development)
Other postgraduate programmes undertaken by previous
Mathematics graduates include:
Graduate Diploma in Primary Teaching, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick
Postgraduate certificate in Education, South Bank University
Graduate Entry to Medicine, UL
Masters in Computational Finance, UL
MSc in Supply Chain Management, DIT
Masters in Mathematics, Edinburgh
For information on studying in Ireland
and studying abroad with useful links
for many countries worldwide visit:
www.nuigalway.ie/careers
www.postgradireland.com
also has
useful information on postgraduate
courses in Ireland,
www.prospects.ac.uk is an excellent
site for researching opportunities
in the UK and
http://ec.europa.eu/ploteus/
covers the EU.
Financial
Adviser/
Planner
Software
Programmer
Technical
Writer
Investment
Analyst
Informatics
Scientist
Data
Analyst
sk
nalyst
*Mathmatics_Layout 1 17/04/2013 15:17 Page 3
Where can I find out more?
The following websites contain relevant, interesting information on career
opportunities with a degree in Mathematics
Irish Maths Society
www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/ims/
EUROPE
Plus Magazine http://plus.maths.org
Mathematical Association www.m-a.org.uk
Royal Statistical Society www.rss.org.uk
Institute of Math. UK www.ima.org.uk
Maths Careers www.mathscareers.org.uk/
European Math. Society www.euro-math-soc.eu
European Math. Info Service www.emis.de
INTERNATIONAL
American Statistics Assoc. www.amstat.org/careers/
American Mathematical Society www.ams.org
Institute of Math. www.ima.umn.edu
Australian Maths Society www.austms.org.au
www.math-jobs.com/
GENERAL STUDENT/GRADUATE WEBSITES
Career Development Centre, degree opportunities:
www.nuigalway.ie/careers/students/degreeopp.html
Gradireland www.gradireland.com
Prospects UK Maths profile
www.prospects.ac.uk/options_mathematics_your_skills.htm
www.newscientist.com/graduate
www.jobs.ac.uk [academic jobs, fellowships etc UK, Europe and worldwide]
What our
students
say...
Hannah Healy
Bachelor of Arts
“There are many reasons why I chose to attend NUI Galway. It's a
great campus with a fun atmosphere and many events taking place! I
chose to study Arts because it gives you a wide variety of subjects to
choose from, so it seemed the best option for me. I hope to do a
postgraduate programme in Public Relations once I’m finished.
Being from Galway, I enjoyed the comfort of always being welcomed by a familiar face.
Having said that I still wanted the other advantage of college life, meeting new people and
getting involved in all the great clubs and societies NUI Galway had to offer. In first year I
joined the Surf Club and went on numerous weekend and day trips throughout the year and
the craic you have on those is unbelievable!
NUI Galway is a great university with such friendly open-minded people and I’m sure
whoever decides to attend Galway will love it as much as I do.”
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