What jobs can a math, applied math, or statistics major from a top school get that pays well after graduation?
The previous answers all seem reasonable and, of course, I’m partial to an actuarial career. But in honesty, good jobs require more than one skill. If you’re a math major of any sort, it’s not enough. You also need to be able to communicate and think. Do you have the ability to do original work? For instance, a math background might be perfect to work in jobs as different as an investment banker, accountant or product manager. Math just gives you the ability to understand and work with numbers. What you do after that depends on what you enjoy and what other skills you have.
Should I take finite math or statistics?
Both of these are useful topics that deserve personal attention, however you may or may not be the type to avoid as much math as possible. Statistics can be very boring, but finite math can be a little more interesting. Topics in finite math can result in some interesting problems in logic that even appear on national math competition exams, such as the Putnam. If I had to choose between the two, I would go with finite math, only because it's more centered on theoretical approaches as opposed to an introductory statistics course. But I would choose the course required for your field of interest. Do you need statistics? If so, that would be the best one to pick.
What PhD programs are open to a statistics major with a heavy math concentration?
If you are curious if your degree would be sufficient for admission to a mathematics PhD program, it would. Of course, PhD admissions are by no means guaranteed. I'm certain that some people in admissions committees at programs in some schools will show a preference for someone who majored in mathematics, but as you can see, that's not universal.Beyond the obvious of statistics and mathematics, the only other obvious choice would be mathematics education. I think this is an awesome field that gets dismissed too much because it is insufficiently theoretical. When you go to look for a job, it's pretty rare that insufficiently theoretical is going to be a concern. Most jobs require apploed mathematicians and mathematics educators.Can you potentially go into another discipline? Of course! However, you would need to demonstrate sufficient interest and commitment to be admitted to such a program. If you never taken an English class beyond your general education requirements, I would not expect and English lit PhD program to admit you. STEM disciplines generally love candidates with strong mathematical sophistication, but if you've never written a computer program in your life, no strong CS program will admit you as a PhD student.How much work would be required for a specific PhD program? It depends. Some interdisciplinary fields might not expect you to have much of anything, simply because the field is rarely studied at the undergraduate level. Examples might be biostatistics or bioinformatics; it would help if you had a couple of semesters of undergrad biology, but I know that bioinformatics programs admit students with a wide variety of backgrounds, very few of whom have taken extensive coursework in all relevant areas. You might need to start in a masters degree, but finding a program that will support you with some kind of an assistantship is relatively easy in STEM. Note I say relatively, not absolutely, and hopefully with your background you will understand the difference. ;)So in short, what are you interested in?
Do I need a math major to apply for a PhD in statistics or applied math?
You don't need to be a math major to get into a PhD program in statistics, but it would be very good to take a master's level course in real analysis. You need some basic level of comfort with general metric spaces to get through the first year courses at most places.For an applied math program, you probably do need the equivalent of an actual major. I would expect those programs to have roughly the same admissions requirements as traditional math.
What job could i get with a BSc Mathematics?
Damned little. Take electives in finance if you like that, or computer science and programming if you like that to get an entry.Newer fields include logistics and reliabilitry engineering. Even with a masters or Phd in mathematics jobs are few and far between, no matter what lies you are told. I know. I spent decades looking for work outside of teaching and my areas of expertise were in very applied mathematics including statistics and what used to be known as operations research (now applied management science). There seems to be an employment bias against those in mathematics. [Perhaps others here have had similar experiences.] Try to label yourself as something else other than a "math major." Actuarial work is another good area, but you'll need advanced degrees to move up. The best of luck to you. Sadly, you'll need it.
Is BSc in statistics hard?
Any college major will be hard. But, you should really pick your college major on a career path that you're interested in or that you enjoy doing. The benefit to majoring in Math or Statistics is that you never have to write a 10 or 20 page research paper on the undergrad side whereas you would in a history or an English course. Though, on the graduate side you will have to perform significant research in your master's thesis/doctoral thesis. For a career in statistics, you will generally need to obtain a least a master's degree. In that sense, if you only want to be in school for a few years, you should consider picking another major. A lot of people have trouble finding work after college as they don't have much of a career plan. In that sense, if you see yourself working as a statistician, you should major in stats. Otherwise, you should pick a career that most interests you, and choose the major that will get you to that career.
How can a mathematics or statistics graduate get into an economics PhD program (without having any formal training in economic theory), but it is not possible the other way around?
Not only that, but they tend to do better than Econ graduates in the PhD. Assuming that you’re comparing the Xth percentile mathematics graduate with the Xth percentile economics graduate.The hard parts of economics are mathematical. Those hard parts are also not as hard as the maths in Physics, (most branches of) Engineering, and of course Maths. Therefore Econ graduates cannot make it into PhDs in those fields.The non-mathematical parts are not hard. With decent reading comprehension you could study the non-mathematical requirements to do a PhD in a month or two.Yes, some economists have great “intuition” (or more commonly, sales skills), but you’re not required to have that mystical intuition for finishing your PhD.Maths/Physics/Engineering graduates tend to be significantly better-prepared for Economics PhDs than Econ graduates. Not only that, they have more career options even if they do not choose to go into a PhD.The only advantage of the Econ undergrad is that it is easy. Credential: I have an undergrad degree with a ridiculously-good grade from one of the most selective Econ-based courses in the world. And it was easy because I’m somewhat talented at Maths.If you’re considering studying Econ for career reasons, and if you’re good at mathematical thinking: don’t. Maths, Physics, Engineering, or even Computer Science would be more useful than an undergraduate degree in Econ. You can still read Econ textbooks and build economic models for fun with the latter training (and probably do it better than poor Econ-graduate Joe Schmoe).I regret studying Econ for my undergrad and if I could choose again, would have studied one of Applied Maths, Statistics, or Computer Science instead.That said, I work as a computer programmer. Therefore I might be biased against Econ as a subject of study.I have written another answer regarding the practical purposes of studying Econ: Anthony Chuah's answer to Should I study economics at university even if I am poor at math?
Career options: Masters in Statistics or Math Education?
I am having trouble deciding between the two programs. My passion comes from teaching and my major is currently statistics. I have mixed feelings on the subject; i hate it sometimes and i like it sometimes and I'm not sure if I want to make a career out of it and end up hating it. I feel like also a lot of statistics jobs are computer programming based which im bad at. A Master in Math Education will be easier since the courses are education classes but Masters in Statistics is similar to my undergraduate just harder. I guess with Statistics I'll have more of a broader scope but to teach I'd have to get a PHD.....Any thoughts/comments/suggestions? Thanks!
Can a person with a bachelor’s in statistics do a PhD in applied math?
I don’t like to say no to anybody’s aspirations, but I have some reservations. Those reservations come from almost opposing directions.I think of applied math as being the set of tools to help answer questions and solve problems in several different application domains. Those domains are heavily concentrated in physics and engineering, with heavy emphasis on reducing real world problems to governing partial differential equations and integral equations. They also frequently involve the effort to find useful approximations. In my distant youth, statistics, particularly at the bachelor’s level, was pretty lightweight in real STEM problem solving.Any PhD program is going to involve a huge step up in the amount of rigor and abstraction, at least compared to most bachelor’s programs that are not in the field of pure math.If I were in your shoes, I would cultivate a professor who teaches applied math, and get his opinions. (I have been an applied mathematician in industry for 3 decades, so my advice is only possibly useful.)The foregoing notwithstanding, if you are willing to commit to a course of action and a course of study that may involve a fair amount of remedial engineering and remedial rigor, and if that is the muse that suits you, then good luck.