Why choose a career involving maths?

As a student you are always told maths is one of the most important subjects and that if you do well in maths then you can go far, but is this really the case? Well in this blog post our aim is to explore where maths can take you and why it can be such a lucrative career path, as well as provide you with some seriously cool jobs!

Taking a look at the average graduate salary based on subject we can quickly start to see that maths pays off. If you look at a pure mathematics degree the average salary is £23,478 well above the average of £20,964 and ranked 13^th out of a total of 63 degrees, not bad. But if we take into account other subjects that are also heavily maths based it paints an even better picture. Civil engineering, Mechanical engineering and General engineering are ranked 10^th, 9^th and 7^th respectively earning you up to £24,937. If you take into account economics it gets even better, this is ranked 5^th best with the average salary being £25,637. (These figures are based on data taken from the Higher Education Statistics Agency report)

So the average earning potential is looking pretty good, but what kind of jobs are available for maths related degrees? Well there are some really exciting jobs out there that you may not have associated with maths. You can be an animator working a Pixar. Animators use linear algebra to show the way that an object is rotated and shifted and made larger and smaller. What about a special effects director? These involve lots of calculations making sure explosions and stunts work to perfection. If you what to work for Google or Facebook maths is key programming and creating all those algorithms takes a lot of skill. Possibly one of the coolest jobs has to be an astronaut, they use maths to make precise mathematical calculations, from how the spacecraft leaves Earth’s atmosphere to how astronauts pilot the craft. These are just a few of the jobs that are out there, with career paths in engineering, teaching and banking there is something for everyone.

Maths has the power to unlock many doors offering you well paid and more importantly interesting and fulfilling jobs. The key is to start early as the basics in maths are the foundations for future learning. So make sure you do you pay attention in school and do your homework and you will be well on your way to landing your dream job.