Career Opportunities in Applied Mathematics

“The Essence of Mathematics is not to make simple thing complicated, but to make Complicated thing Simple”— Stanley Gudder.  

Across the universe, there is one constant subject in the education system which is the queen of science: Mathematics. One of the most attractive & challenging subjects among the students is Mathematics. It is very much creative, logical & rewarding too. This subject has important connections with other disciplines in such a way that it grows the interest among the students to learn Mathematics. The innovative mathematical reasoning leads to new insights and applications in several disciplines. Thus getting a post graduate degree in Mathematics takes a student in another level where they can show their quality in complex problem solving both industry and academia. In general the tenure for getting a post graduate degree is of two years. Anyone can find different types of names for this master degree programme like Applied Mathematics, Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, Computational Mathematics etc. But the prime aim is always same which is to fill learners bag with full of knowledge and skill on all those aspects of Mathematics.    After completion post-graduate degree in Mathematics, student’s career graph may have several edges with attractive career opportunities.  

About M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics:  M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics program is two years post-graduate degree course which involves the advanced level mathematics. It involves the study of Algebra to Analysis; Mathematical Models to Operations Research; Statistics to Stochastic Process, Computer Programing to Data Structures; Machine Learning to Fuzzy Mathematics. 

Acquired Skills: 

• Understanding abstract problems 
• Constructing logical arguments 
• Problem-solving 
• Decision making  
• Critical and analytical thinking 
• Organize, analyze and interpret data 
• Quantitative reasoning 

Compete for the National Level Exam:  The papers offered in the MSc curriculum will enable students to compete in national level competitive examinations like NET / SET / GATE / CSIR/ JEST / DST / DRDO / ISRO / UPSC etc. 

Study after Post-graduate: Higher study is always a better option for Mathematicians.  The studies like M.Tech., M.Phil. or Ph.D. are preferable for a career in academia and industry.  

Career Prospects: 

An advance course like M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics opens the several opportunities for the students. From science & technology to business & healthcare, mathematics is relevant to all most all the institutes and industries which reflects that an accomplished mathematician has a wide range of career prospects.  

Generally, mathematics can lead us to two different career paths: academia or industry. There is always an opportunity for a mathematician in teaching and research job along with a wide range of scope in various industry-related jobs in statistics, engineering, computer science, physical science, insurance, economics and banking.

Jobs directly related to the degree include: 

• Teacher: Government as well as private schools offer good jobs for mathematics graduates and post graduates as a mathematics teacher. After completing Ph.D. one can apply for an assistant professor job in various colleges/universities.  

• Research scientist:  Mathematicians can apply for research-related jobs at good remuneration and package in Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), National Aeronautic Limited (NAL) and Society for Electronic Transaction and Security (SETS). 

• Actuarial analyst: Actuaries are an essential part of Insurance industries for optimizing policies to minimize the risk. Mathematical and statistical modeling has been used to predict the financial position of an organization which helps a lot to the actuarial analyst.  

• Data analyst: In order to solve complex problems in business and other areas, data analyst uses mathematical and statistical analysis to make strategic, logical data-driven decision. Statistical tools have been used to interpret data sets with predictive decision-making modeling.  

• Operational Researcher: To improve the operations of any organization or to run any organization smoothly operational researchers used their mathematical skills.   

• Cryptographer: Cryptography is an application of an important subject number theory. MSc program offers the course. Intelligence agencies hire cryptographers for encoding & decoding sensible data to keep it safe from malicious hackers.  Post-graduate students can pursue this as their career. 

• Administrative job in Govt. sector:  Nowadays, in most of the universities offered professional studies course along with the regular core papers. It will prepare the students in soft skills so that he/she will be able to understand the intricacies of preparing for higher level examinations e.g. IAS, IPS, WBCS & other govt. jobs. After completion of post graduate degree in Mathematics students can appear for GATE exam. If a student can able to crack GATE exam, then he/she can apply in all PSU companies such as HAL, ONGC, IOC etc. 

Conclusion: 

The post-graduation degree in Mathematics provides students marketable attractive skills for various aspects of life and in the current situation, the demand for mathematicians has grown exponentially. According to the American Mathematical Society, the job market for mathematicians is predicted to rise by a whopping 30% in this coming decade. In fact, mathematicians have bright career among the most promising career paths based on their income levels, growth outlook, and low-stress work environments. So, in the present socio-economic scenario, the program may turn out to be a valuable asset to the students.