Department of Mathematics and Actuarial Science

      Careers

The college graduate with a bachelor's degree in mathematics or actuarial science can qualify for a broad range of highly paid positions in

1. Business (banks, insurance companies, and consulting firms),
2. Industry (companies in the computer and communications industries employ many mathematicians, as do oil companies), government (Almost every bureau and branch of the federal government employs mathematicians in some capacity. Mathematicians, statisticians, operations researchers, and actuaries work in the Department of Health and Human Services, the General Accounting Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the National Institute of Standards. The Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Security Agency also employ many mathematicians.),
3. Teaching and research (University and college teaching and research have always attracted many mathematicians. In most four-year colleges and universities, the Ph.D. is necessary for full faculty status. Many mathematicians with a bachelor's or master's degree teach at the K-12 level. Major Research Laboratories: IBM, ATT, Bell, and Research Institutes support purely research scientific positions.).

Many other job titles apply to mathematicians who have specialized in an applied branch of mathematics.

1. Actuaries assemble and analyze statistics to calculate probabilities, and thereby set rates, in the insurance industry
2.Operations Research Analysts apply scientific methods and mathematical principles to organizational problems.
3. Statisticians design, carry out, and interpret the numerical results of surveys and experiments.

All of these careers begin with an education in mathematics, and a curiosity about the use of mathematics to solve problems.

     Profiles of Some Math Graduates

William J. Perry If you have ever felt that mathematicians are completely underrepresented at the highest levels of government, look again. The former Secretary of Defense, William J. Perry, holds a PhD in Mathematics. William J. Perry received a PhD in mathematics from Penn State in 1957. His PhD thesis was on mean value theorems for solution of PDEs.

Marc A. Fusaro Research Assistant, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Marc Fusaro is a research assistant in the Research and Statistics division of the Federal Reserve System. "I work in Washington DC in a glorious marble building facing the Vietnam memorial," Marc says. "I am in the Economic Activity Section, which is on the front lines of monetary policy. We are the people who forecast and study the economy for the Governors of the Federal Reserve and Chairman Greenspan." Marc has a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Scranton.

Valerie Lopez BS Mathematics, University of Texas, Austin 1991 Actuarial Analyst, Towers Perrin My responsibility is in pension consulting, although many other types of benefits consulting are within the realm of Towers Perrin's capabilities. Pension consulting involves mathematics from start to finish. After choosing Towers Perrin as consultants, a client entrusts us with establishing and administering its pension plans.

Arnitra Duckett BA Mathematics, Spelman College Educational Markets Manager, Texas Instruments, Inc. Upon receiving my Bachelor's of Science degree in May of 1995, I began my career with Texas Instruments, Inc. as an Educational Markets Manager (EMM). As an EMM, my job is to create awareness and demand for classroom technology. I have always been aware of the connection between mathematics, science, and many other subjects. However, the connection between mathematics and business became more apparent as I began working for a major corporation. Because of my involvement in both the mathematics and business communities, I plan to pursue a Master's in business administration in order to strengthen my bond between mathematics and business.

Yvonne Zhou BA Mathematics and Computer Science, McAlester College Software Engineer, Cray Research, Inc. In May 1991, I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and computer science from McAlester College in Minnesota. Since then, I have been working at Cray Research on a scheduling program for the Cray Supercomputers. The manager who hired me later told me that the reason he picked me was because I had a very strong background in mathematics.

Joan Peters Ogden BA Mathematics ,University of California, Davis MS Mathematics, Michigan State University As an undergraduate, I took more than half my credits in mathematics and statistics. The rest of my classes were a smattering of one of everything. That breadth has proved very valuable, since as a health care actuary I need to know a little about psychology, sociology, economics, government... . The list is endless. My job is to predict the future! As a consulting actuary, I am usually called to determine how many people in a given population will develop the need for health care in a future time period (as long as up to 20 years), what kind of care they will receive, and how much that health care will cost.

Bernard McCabe Vice President, Daniel H. Wagner Associates Bernard McCabe is a Senior Vice President of Daniel H. Wagner Associates (DHWA) in Malvern, Pennsylvania, where he is responsible for the firm's strategic planning and marketing. The function of the firm is to apply mathematics to a consulting and software development environment. "We design mathematical models of many different kinds of phenomena and situations," he says. "These include searching for lost or valuable objects or tracking objects of military interest. We also develop mathematical models for financial applications: evaluating complex investment options, portfolio design, risk-based pricing of loans. Bernie has a B.S. in mathematics from Manhattan College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in mathematics from Catholic University.

Ron Bousquet BA Mathematics and Computer Science, Potsdam College MA Mathematics, Potsdam College R&D Projecy Manager, Hewlett-Packard Company I graduated from Potsdam College in May 1989 with both undergraduate and graduate degrees. I immediately began working for Hewlett-Packard as a software development engineer. Within my first six months, it became apparent that what I learned in the realm of mathematics might even be more important than what I learned in computer science. But what I found most useful about my mathematics training was not simply the facts I learned. Rather, it was that it taught me how to learn. I was able, with little or no supervision, to pick up a journal, or a textbook, or a manual, and get the information I needed to be productive.

Lisa M. Sullivan  B.A., Mathematics , Bowdoin College 1992, Senior Budget Analyst , Budget Division , Department of the Navy , Bureau of Medicine and Surgery I analyze the Medical Budget Programs for Navy Medical Treatment Facilities all over the world. I am involved with many unique and mathematically interesting analyses. For instance, I have worked on various cost models for the Program Objective Memorandum 1998, which basically outlines the financial future of Navy Medicine. Trend analysis and forecasting are also a major part of my job as there are various performance indicators in place (e.g., ratios such as Patient Care Costs per Medical Work Unit) used to compare like hospitals (e.g. standard deviation from mean of peers).

Some of the ads (as of October 06), seeking Mathematics and Actuary Graduates:

D.W. Simpson-Chicago-Entry Level Actuarial Analyst: Full time Employee, Salary $45K-$55K, Experience 0-1 years, Desired Education Level Bachelor of Science, Date posted October 4 2006, VBA programming experience a plus. 1 to 4 actuarial exams required. Internship experience a plus.

Lincoln Financial Group-Fort Wayne Indiana-DC Product Development Actuary: Monitors and analyzes developments in actuarial techniques, laws and regulations applicable to company operations, and competitive developments in the marketplace. Bachelor’s or higher degree in mathematics, actuarial science, business or science. 4+ years of actuarial experience. FSA designation, or ASA designation with additional years of actuarial experience.

Roy Talman & Associates-Chicago-Life or Pension Actuary (ASA/FSA): 100,000.00 - 150,000.00 USD /year, FSA or ASA designation, at least seven years of experience in a life insurance company or an insurance consulting firm, direct experience in life insurance/annuity product pricing, valuation, modeling, financial planning or risk management. Education level Bachelor's Degree.

Early Admission

Qualified high school seniors may be given special permission to enroll in appropriate freshman courses while completing their high school courses. Students may qualify for early admission under the following conditions:

1. Complete the special early admissions application
2. Have the application signed by the school principal or guidance counselor
3. Submit an official high school transcript showing at least a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (a B average)