higher education and such

Hi all,

I currently reside in NJ, and just graduated from college back in may with a bachelor's in mathematics.

Currently, i've been looking for a job that makes use of that degree whether directly or indirectly, and I haven't had much luck. I do have a part time job with a test preparation company, so it's not like i'm unemployed, but it's not what i want to be doing.

Has anyone gone on for a masters or doctorate on the forum, and if so how hard was your job search afterwards?


**mods, you can move this post if it's in the wrong forum**

-deafsigma

Have you considered getting a teachers certification to teach secondary mathematics? There's always a shortage of qualified math teachers. I used to be a math teacher.

I decided not to pursue a higher mathematics degree. I went to law school instead. I thought that my options would be more limited with a masters or doctorate in math. Most people who earn these degrees end up teaching in community colleges, which is not a bad gig because they pay more than state universities. If you'd like teaching in community college, go for it.

My BIL has a doctorate in math. He didn't want to teach at community college and wasn't successful getting into a post-doc program. He went back to work in the construction industry because he's also a civil engineer. He said that he just got tired of thinking so hard about theory all of the time.

Hope this helps. PM me if you want more info.

I'd be wary about taking out more student loans right now. The economy sucks and it's a tough market out there, even for highly qualified people.

sallylou said:

Have you considered getting a teachers certification to teach secondary mathematics? There's always a shortage of qualified math teachers. I used to be a math teacher.

I decided not to pursue a higher mathematics degree. I went to law school instead. I thought that my options would be more limited with a masters or doctorate in math. Most people who earn these degrees end up teaching in community colleges, which is not a bad gig because they pay more than state universities. If you'd like teaching in community college, go for it.

My BIL has a doctorate in math. He didn't want to teach at community college and wasn't successful getting into a post-doc program. He went back to work in the construction industry because he's also a civil engineer. He said that he just got tired of thinking so hard about theory all of the time.

Hope this helps. PM me if you want more info.

I'd be wary about taking out more student loans right now. The economy sucks and it's a tough market out there, even for highly qualified people.

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Big Illiterate Lug?

bachelor in math? sorry but.... there's not much use for it in terms of employment unless you're very good at it (ie. number-crunching ability). Most people who majored in English, literature, math, history, physics, or art tend to go to grad school to get teaching degree. but then... after that - it's extremely hard to find teaching job in a "nice town". The only available job is the low-paying teaching job at school in terrible neighborhoods.

I usually encourage people to avoid these kind of majors because the job prospect for those majors is not good and not lucrative. Math teaching job in NJ? good luck. extremely hard to find it. You're better off working for 7-11 and you'll actually make more at this job than what you're doing now. I know this because I have handful of friends who are high school teachers and one as college professor.... all in NJ and NY. because of economic situation - older teachers are not retiring so most of my friends are subs. few of them are lucky to land a job as full-time teachers.

My friend is a math genius and is one of the top math guys in NJ (from math competition). He ended up working for major bank company (I forget which) for number crunching stuff. My other friend is a math genius too but he was smart enough not to pursue it as major. He minored in math and majored in computer engineering (I think).... because of that - he landed a very lucrative job as System Engineer with ease at Lockheed Martins - working on UAV projects.

do not worry - all is not lost. Current economic situation is actually a great time for you and others to take opportunity in pursuing grad school but I highly recommend you to pursue something more "employable" such as engineering (defense contractors, gov't, etc), business (banks, financial corp, etc), accountant (banks, financial corps, SEC, etc), etc.

With your strong math background plus employable field.... there's no doubt that you can land a lucrative job anywhere, anytime - no matter what the economic situation is. NO DOUBT!

Good luck on your endeavor!!!

LOL@Bott

Brother In Law

I have a BA in English Literature and Philosophy, and yeah- I'm unemployed. I want to work in IT though, and previous jobs have made use of my IT skills. They haven't paid particularly well, I could have done them from school- but that's the way things are at the moment for a lot of people my age (24). I don't drive and live in a small town so I think job opportunities are a lot different from in big cities.

I know a few people who have started Masters degrees simply because they can't find a job, and in my opinion I don't think that's wise. The added loan amount is not something I want right now, but everyone is different. I want to work in IT, I don't particularly care for money as long as I can get by and would like to afford to move out, so for me the best thing at the moment is to pursue IT jobs and save up. Having said that I am starting an ECDL computer course just to keep things more up-to-date, but as I'm not working it is free for me.

You've only been graduated since May- I really think, if you want to work full-time, you should give it more time. After finishing uni in June a few years ago it took me til September to get my first job, and it was the September after that when I got an IT related job. I had personal issues though which meant I didn't search as much as I could have. Everyone suggested teaching to me but a) the govt don't want English teachers so they won't give grants for that, and b) I don't want to be a teacher- I'm not a people person and I'm impatient.

It was hard for me to adjust coming home after uni, being back into 'working life' as I'd never really had a working life before, but it does wear off.

My questions/thinking points for you are:
Do you only want to do a postgrad as you're having trouble finding the job you want? Did you want to do postgrad anyway? If someone offered you the the job you want, which would you choose?
How long would you look for said job before you opt to do postgrad?
Do you miss the university lifestyle?

I know it's difficult- the economy royally sucks, and after uni I had a huge existential crisis of 'oh crap I've got a huge loan I can't afford to pay back and a crappy job and what was the point of all that', but I spent a lot of time figuring out what I want to do and I'm comfortable at the moment.

simply put - if you do not know what you want to major in.... simply pick the employable field. English Literature and Philosophy are not exactly widely employable field. I would call it a "transferable skill" or "add-on skill". What I mean by that is that it can apply to whatever you're doing at work.

For ie - you can major in IT and minor in English (or double-major it)... that way - you can be the copywriter for IT companies because many websites need people to write something for their products, policy, etc. Your English Literature background will not go to waste. it is relatively hard to find people with good writing skill plus IT skill because together - it makes a huge huge difference when it comes to e-commerce business. Which one are you more likely to shop? a site full of pictures with shoddy, confusing sentences or a site with clearly-understood and fresh writing?

Nowadays - the most important skill is IT. You really need to know how to use computer and Internet. Any other add-on skill such as math, writing, history, etc... it will put you ahead of others. For practical purpose - college is not a place for your "interest" because it is expensive 4-years investment for you. You will be in shitload of debt after you graduate. Finding a job is hard enough already. College is an investment for your future. You must major in something EMPLOYABLE. For your "interest/hobby" - it doesn't hurt to minor in it to learn more about it but do not major in it because most of time - it does not pay well and it's not very employable.

English majors and other humanity majors, two words-- law school. Writing skills will get you far there.

sallylou said:

English majors and other humanity majors, two words-- law school. Writing skills will get you far there.

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i forgot to say this. Philosophy major will help you pretty good for law school as well.

Yes, it does. I also took logic which is a class in the philosophy department and it was really useful.

The economy will get better. I always tell people to follow their heart and the rest will work out. We need to stick together and help each other until the job market improves.

If you're going to study poly/sci, it's probably a good idea to get certification to teach social studies (history, government, etc.) Then you have a fall back plan and can teach until you get everything set for law school. Otherwise, there aren't many jobs for that major.

Loghead said:

PolySci is one of those majors that you have to go to law school/teacher's college for if you want a chance of getting a job, right?

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yes and no.

yes it is nice to have in your background to show but it is not a very employable field when you're fresh out of school. Who wants to hire person with that skill but no experience? The entry level in this field is very very very very tough... even brutal. Your key to success in this field is connection via fraternity/sorority.

I have a Master's in Elementary Deaf Ed. It took me 7 months to land my teaching job.

To answer your question about admission, law schools look for diversity. With good grades in any major and a good LSAT score, you'll get admitted to a law school. Study what interests you most and concentrate on doing well.

Biology, chemistry and engineering majors typically become patent attorneys. Sorry, but you can't get in the patent bar with a math degree.

Here's a link about it:

Public Administration Major | What Can You Do With a College Degree in Public Administration?

I would think that you would need at least a masters. It might be wise to focus on health care. Maybe someone else has more info.

Loghead said:

I have been thinking about how PolySci might not be a good idea. I've been looking at a major in Public Administration. I have also thought of maybe taking a minor in PolySci with it. Public Administration is fairly usable, correct?

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yep! Public Administration = a very employable field but hard (still better than polysci major). Together with PolySci... it'll make your background stands out from "typical background". Most important is to rack up internship experience and part-time job experience relating to this.

Most end up in government sector but most requires Master's and license (such as Professional Engineer). Public Administration - Master Degree program at my work (a small private university) is one of the most popular majors in here. Majority of these students are in government jobs - mostly for NYC and Homeland Security.

Oceanblue7 said:

You can do a lot with your math degree, working an engineer job, aerospace environment career maybe, hope that helps can't think of any others right now.

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For that - engineering major should be your primary. With math degree as minor or double-major - the chance of your job prospect will be much higher! You cannot do math in those field if you do not have engineering background. Math is a very very broad skill. You need a specific training and knowledge in certain field in order to apply math to it. For ie - math knowledge for civil engineering will not work for electrical engineering. Completely different math formula.

That's why my friend majored in Computer Engineering (I think) plus math... and that's how he landed a job as System Engineer for Lockheed Martins.