Career Options for Mathematics Students: Top 13 Career Opportunities in India

Summary:

In this article, you will learn about the Top 13 Career Opportunities in India for Mathematics Students. Take a glimpse below.

1. Professor
2. Statistician
3. Mathematician
4. Data Analyst / Business Analyst
5. Chartered Accountant
6. Investment Banker
7. Data Scientist
8. Astronomer
9. Programmer/ Software Engineer/ Blockchain Developer
10. Economists and so on…

Read the complete article to learn more.

In the land of the great Aryabhata, there are numerous career options in math. It is the perfect subject with logic, analytical thinking, and time management that helps you scale your career. Passionate students pursuing math can choose from various, unique professions that might be a great way to discover some findings that would change how math is viewed.

You can also check out our free courses offered by upGrad in Management, Data Science, Machine Learning, Digital Marketing, and Technology.

Along with being one of the most suitable career options for math students, it is a great way to explore its foundations. It helps in solving many practical world problems and presents a simpler solution for them.

According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, “During the period from 2018 and 2028, the job market for mathematicians is expected to grow by 30%, along with a predicted median salary of US $88,190.” This opens up so many new avenues for students wanting to learn math with all their hearts.

There are various advantages to knowing mathematics in the workplace. To begin with, it becomes a confidence booster and brings professional confidence while at work. Secondly, it makes it easier and less stressful for solving math-related problems, especially if one is in a related industry. 

On the work front, the knowledge of mathematics will allow professionals to solve problems by critical thinking and analyze the problem scientifically. 

There are various courses for math’s students after 12th one can pursue in order to accelerate their journey in the math world. Graduation in commerce, statistics, finance and accounting, chartered accountancy, business administration, management studies, economics, etc.

Our readers are also interested in Advanced Certificate in HCM.

Top Career Options

The opportunities for a great career in math are endless. Normally, students having a Bachelor’s degree can start working, whereas some professions require specialization to suit the requirements.  

Here are some of the best career options in math for the math fanatics:

1. Professor

What can be more rewarding than teaching one’s passion and leading others on the same path! Becoming a math professor is one of the best and most prestigious career options for math students that one can hope for.

A noble profession like teaching is always in need of experts to impart knowledge. Along with teaching math to the students, interested ones can do further research and publish journals that will act as a reference for other math students.

Academia can open many opportunities for professionals.  As they can address lectures as a faculty or guest faculty. Also, they can carry out the research and get the work published. They can create an impact in the academia world by sharing their research and get to network at the same time.

The mathematics professor must possess certain characteristics such as knowledge of mathematics, teaching of various strategies, facilitate learning through non-bookish approach, empathy and concern. These qualities in a math professor will allow them to cater to each type of student and make their career in math meaningful.

Eligibility: To become a math professor, you need to have a Master’s degree at least, whereas most institutions prefer Doctorates in Math for this position.
Average Professor Salary in India is ₹15.3 lakhs per annum.

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Also Read: Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in India

2. Statistician

A thorough collection, analysis, and organization of data and information in visual forms like charts, graphs, etc. are how statisticians work and provide statistical results for various situations. 

Market predictions, cricket matches, healthcare stats, crime rates, population predictions, etc. are put forward after in-depth research and calculations to get valuable insights and make crucial decisions. It helps to know the current situation and what the future would look like in the coming years. That way, one can make the necessary changes and be prepared in advance. 

Statisticians apply their statistical knowledge to real-world problems.  They gather, organise and interpret the data in order aid the business decision-making and prevent the risk factors in the organisation.

There are various industries where the statisticians can make a successful career in such as business, healthcare, e-commerce, government, weather, education, etc.

For example, in the healthcare industry the statisticians design, research, analyze and interpret the health results in order to identify the causes of a disease.

Statistics brings analytical control in the research and accuracy as well. Math field jobs like statisticians are paid well in the industry as there are various numbers of employers in almost every industry that pay competitive salaries. The salary ranges from ₹2 LPA to ₹17.0 LPA and the salary ranges from ₹5.8 LPA.

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Eligibility: A Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics or Statistics would make you eligible to pursue these career options in math, whereas a Master’s degree in Statistics would make it easier to get into the field.

Meanwhile, check out our Full Stack Course to upskill yourself.

3. Mathematician

The world is an oyster and Mathematicians help us explore the endless possibilities that maths has to offer. These professionals are the ones who do the complex calculations that can send a rocket to Mars and come back safely.

A person having the right critical thinking skills, logical ability, and reasoning capacity can dive into this field and get the solutions. From tiny cell phones to satellites, everything is dependent on the minute calculations and algorithms followed. The existing theories can be put into various applications, whereas further research can be done to resolve real-world issues.

Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics might be sufficient, but if you have the zeal to work more, a Master’s degree would be suitable.
Average Salary for a Mathematician is ₹ 953,931 per annum.

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4. Data Analyst / Business Analyst

With the unending career options for math students, growth is guaranteed. Business Analysts are professionals who look into the past business procedures of an organization and come up with new and innovative strategies that will help it get the work done in less time while following procedures and attaining growth consistently.

A business analyst also goes through a lot of data to get insights and suggests solutions accordingly. With the number of organizations increasing and unique client requirements, suitable solutions are to be found that align with company norms and elevate the brand image. Thus, the demand for business analysts is also on the rise.

Data Analyst or Business Analysts helps in effective decision making. They work with the data in order to find trends, risk factors, leakages and many more. The findings are then interpreted by them that are easily understandable. The stakeholders accordingly make the decision based on the finding.

The data analysis and business analysis brings much more stability, accuracy and reasonability in the decision making as they are not vague and are standing on a solid foundation. The projections done through the data analysis prevents possible losses.

Also, data analyst/ business analyst allows the organisations to stay ahead of the competition. With the fast changing environment, it is important to understand the customer’s requirements and any late action could lead to potentially losing the customer segment. With so many competitors in the market, the businesses cannot afford to lose any of their customer segment and to prevent this mishap they invest in a good team of data analysts or business analysts.

The industry applications are not limited as these professionals have various employability options such as healthcare, education, finance, sports, e-commerce and many more.

The professionals are valued in today’s market as there are various recruiters in the market that pay decent salaries and employee benefits in order to acquire or retain their talent. This can be considered one of the  basic math career options one can choose to pursue their career in as the technical skills are not too difficult to learn.

Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree, along with an MBA in Business Analytics is the least qualification required to become a business analyst.

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Also, visit upGrad’s Degree Counselling page for all undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

5. Chartered Accountant

A great career option in math, among others, is the profession of a CA. Students having the patience and suitable skills to pass all the level-based exams for clearing it can pursue it. Math is not a compulsory subject to work as a CA, but the statistical and analytical skills and logical reasoning are required.

Among the various exams for CA: Foundation, Intermediate, Training, and CA final, the first-year subjects include Business Mathematics, Logical Reasoning, and Statistics.

There is a huge importance for a chartered accountant in today’s times as they are involved in budget planning, capital planning, tax planning, auditing, etc. They are responsible for filing the tax returns, auditing of accounts, preparing financial statements and financial advising.

There are various benefits of this profession such as a clear career path, improves business financing, numerous career opportunities, acquire leadership positions for critical abilities, society improvement, and consistent growth.

Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree and qualifying all levels of CA exams is the eligibility criteria.

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Just completed your 12th in science and curious about your future? Navigate through the career options after 12th science to find a path that aligns with your interests and aspirations.

6. Investment Banker

Banking is one of the best career options in math for students looking forward to working with numbers all the time. With this lucrative career, you get to work with multinational organizations and offer them investment advice based on the analysis you do. You need to inform them about the places where they can get maximum ROI and where it is unsafe to invest.

Depending on your experience and expertise, you can get the role. With time, as you upskill yourself, the future is bright. With the correct advice to the organization, you can look forward to moving ahead.

Investment bankers aid in giving strategic advice to businesses, or governments to overcome their financial challenges. The primary aim remains to maximize the revenue.

Investment bankers facilitate the organization’s financial gap by providing analytical financial advice. They provide support during various business activities such as investments, acquisitions, mergers, recession.

Investment banking is one of the high paying careers in today’s times not only in the country but worldwide as well. The average for an investment banker in India is 16.5 LPA and the salary can exceed up to 55.6 LPA. The salary can be higher owing to the experience, skillset and other factors. Investment banking is the answer for the students having the apprehension “If we take standard math what are the career options?” 

Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree in math as well as strong numerical and analytical skills.

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Read: Top 7 Highest Paid Science Jobs in India for Freshers & Experienced

7. Data Scientist

With the various possibilities of Career options for math students, becoming a data scientist is a very challenging but in-demand job for students. If you are a math lover, you will be in love with numbers and arranging data in a usable form.

An organization’s data is its asset, which can be leveraged to get desired output and amazing results. Finding patterns to predict and employing methods to enhance functionalities in an organization can bring transformation.

Data science is one of the most demanded and high paying fields in today’s times. With the digital world the data is increasing and it becomes important to manage this data. The data scientists aid the organizations in handling this large volume of data and with their skills and expertise they are able to make sense out of this data that is serving good benefit to the company.

The application of data science is in almost every field such as manufacturing, finance, banking, marketing, sales, e-commerce, education, transport, healthcare and the list goes on.

One of the basic examples of data science would be e-commerce. How strategically it helps the companies to collect the data, analyze, interpret and gain valuable insights which the company can use in order to grow their business either by marketing or sales. 

Data science is considered as one of the high paying careers where the recruiters pay competitive salaries. The average salary of a data scientist is 14.4 LPA and the salary ranges from 3.9 LPA to 28 LPA. The salary structure can be more than that owing to skill sets, experience, upskilling history and various other factors the employers would weigh in.

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How to be a data scientist?

Here is the most common and recommended path:

• Graduates / Engineers can opt for PG Diploma in Data Science, an 11-month program and is offered jointly by upGrad and IIIT-B.
• You can also get a Master’s in Data Science while participating in global competitions held on Kaggle and working on your own projects.

8. Astronomer

Loving maths and the stars is a wonderful combination that makes up an astronomer. Students interested in this can also pursue Astrometeorology, Astrophysics, Astrometry, Astrobiology, Astrogeology, etc. It is a great career option in maths, as it includes researching, travelling, and noticing everything about space.

Eligibility: A PhD is compulsory for students wanting to become an astronomer. A major in maths and physics is necessary to work as an astronomer.

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9. Programmer/ Software Engineer/ Blockchain Developer

Deep knowledge of software technologies and logical thinking is required to become a programmer. A part of software development that is booming nowadays is blockchain development that uses extensive numerical capabilities and the concept of cryptocurrencies to make files secure and share it for further usage.

While maths helps in increasing the logical reasoning capacity, it can help in developing useful programs for various applications that solve real-world problems. Due to the extensive skill-sets required, only those who are passionate about working as programmers can become one. Along with this, the technical skills of various technologies related to blockchain development are necessary.

How to become a Blockchain Developer?

Engineering graduates, IT Professionals, Data Science Professionals having a strong background in Computer Science/Mathematics/Statistics can apply for Blockchain job roles. The best pathway to enter the Blockchain domain from these mainstream educational backgrounds is to take up a Blockchain certification course.

upGrad offers three fantastic Blockchain courses – PG Diploma, PG Certification, and an Executive Program. As mentioned before, a Blockchain aspirant must be well-versed in a variety of Blockchain tools and technologies and they must possess prior coding experience.

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10. Economist

There is no dearth of career options for maths students, and being an Economist can be one of the greatest achievements of a maths loving student. Some famous economists of our country who stabilised the economy are Raghuram Rajan, Amartya Sen, etc. They were able to forecast the future situation of the economy based on the past and current data collected from various sources.

After becoming an economist, you can analyse the situation and provide necessary steps to undertake for the country’s growth and growth in various sectors like agriculture, telecom, technology, medical and healthcare, etc.

Eligibility: A Bachelor’s in Economics with a Master’s is the minimum eligibility criteria to embark on a role as an economist.

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11. Physicist

Maths and physics go hand-in-hand when it comes to real-world applications. If one intends to become a physicist, then sharp skills in reasoning, logical capability, analytical thinking, and the zeal to resolve issues are prerequisites.

Physicists observe the natural world and convert it into mathematical equations to understand the working of it. Stephen Hawking and Issac Newton are some of the famous names who brought a revolution into the world with their discoveries and theory of the universe’s working. Even after such detailed work by experts, many discoveries and inventions are still to be made that would unravel the hidden secrets of the universe.

With the correct knowledge blend and strong math skills, expert physicists would be able to provide mathematical models that will explain the various paradoxes.

Eligibility: A PhD is the minimum criteria to become a physicist, as such high-level discoveries require a certain skill-level, which can come only by attaining a Doctorate.

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Read: 6 Best Career Options after BSC: What to do After B.Sc?

12. Cryptographer

Cryptographer is one of the most suitable career options for maths students. As the name suggests, a Cryptographer is someone who encrypts and decrypts data in various ways that are impossible to decipher. Countries, nowadays, have numerous secrets that they don’t want the others to know, and if you are a Cryptographer, you can save your country’s secrets from falling into the wrong hands.

A very creative mathematical mind is required to become a Cryptographer, and it requires a suitable skill-set to do pure data analysis and come up with various ways to do the same.

Cryptography has become a major tool for building secure digital systems. The organisations pay high attention to securing their data and keep their conversations confidential. Cryptographers make sure to keep the protection high by securing the digital systems.

The industry applications of cryptography would be universities, government, banking, finance, insurance, armed forces and many more. The numerous industry applications implies numerous work opportunities and this makes cryptography a good career in today’s times.

Eligibility: A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Maths will be suitable to start as a Cryptographer, and with the skills you develop, there is no stopping.

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13. Aerospace Engineer

If being in space excites you, then becoming an Aerospace Engineer would allow you to explore your interests. By becoming one, you can get to work with space missions, design spacecraft, missiles, etc. and make your country proud. This will help in boosting the economy of your country to a great extent.

You get to design new fuselages, engines, wings, other components, and design tests for it by following the trial and error method.

Eligibility: A Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering is required.

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Conclusion

Maths has found its applications in every field, and thus, exposing ourselves to it enables us to know what the subject has to offer. With great professional help, you can soar high in your journey towards becoming a great mathematician and pursuing your passion.