From Medicine to weather forecasting, Mathematics can take you anywhere

A maths honours graduate has a range of choices in the public/private sector, academic institutes and the industry

Mathematics is among the most fascinating of all intellectual disciplines, the purest of all art forms. The study of maths is not only exciting, but also important.

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Work area/ titles

Path

Work Description

None

Teacher
Teacher
Teacher and researcher
Civil servant (civil services/Indian
Statistical Service/Indian Economic Service)

BSc (Maths) + BEd
MSc (Maths)
MSc (Maths) + PhD
BSc (Maths)/
MSc (Maths)

Teaching at school
Teaching at school/ college
Teaching and research in college, university or research institutes
Government administration

Economics and finance

Actuary
Loan officer/Trust officer
Econometrist Operations
Research analyst
Economic forecaster

BSc (Hons) + Economics

Design insurance policies and pension plans and evaluate the financial risks a company takes in implementation

Physical science

Physical science
Statistician

BSc (Math) + MSc (Physics)

Observer, scientist

Statistics

Mathematical statistician
Agricultural statistician
Meteorological statistician
Applied statistician

BSc (Hons) Maths
n BSc (Hons)+MSc (Stats), MSc (Operational Research)

Statisticians plan, carry out, and interpret the numerical results of surveys and experiments that are subject to uncertainly

Computer sciences

Computational statistician
Statistical software engineer

MCA/ MTech/MS

Life Sciences

Scientist

Mathematics with biology

Management

CEO

MBA

Students who have studied maths have an opportunity to make a lasting contribution to society by helping solve problems in such diverse fields as medicine, management, economics, banking, government, insurance, computer science, physics, psychology, engineering, bio-mathematics, bio-informatics and weather forecasting.

Career options
A Bachelor's degree in maths will prepare you for fascinating jobs in statistics, actuarial sciences, mathematical modelling, cryptography, computer science; for teaching at both school and college level and a research career in mathematics, statistics and bio-informatics. A strong background in maths is also necessary for research in many areas of computer science, social science, and engineering.

Skill sets required
The principal skills required for studying maths: Posing questions, analysing, translating and illustrating results, drawing diagrams, using trial and error, applying rules of logic, recognising relevant facts, and subjecting conclusions to scrutiny.

Institutions at a glance
Most universities offer the BSc (Hons.) programme in maths. At the University of Delhi, 32 colleges conduct this programme. Some popular colleges for maths in Delhi University are:
St Stephen's College
Hans Raj College
Lady Shri Ram College for Women
Kirori Mal College
Sri Venkateswara College
Some popular colleges/ institutes for mathematics in India:
Loyola College, Chennai
Presidency College, Kolkata
St Xavier's College, Mumbai
Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore (for BMath)
Chennai Mathematical Institute (for BSc in maths and computer science)

The author is professor at Department of Mathematics, University of Delhi.