Career Information
Careers in Mathematics
Careers in Statistics
Careers in Education
Careers in Mathematics
For what kinds of jobs is a graduate of mathematics or statistics prepared? It is easier to ask for the jobs for which our graduates are not prepared! Mathematics disciplines the mind and instills a mode of thinking that helps one to adapt quickly and to contribute to many different fields: computer science, cryptology, economics, insurance, law, education, and politics, to name just a few. A recent questionnaire distributed to graduates of this department shows that our former students are employed in such diverse occupations as teacher, computer programmer, chartered accountant, economic analyst, loans officer, and manager of a financial corporation. The auditor general of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador for most of the 1990's, Elizabeth Marshall, has a B.Sc. from Memorial (1973) with a major in mathematics. Here are some comments from former students:
“My mathematics background helps me to interpret financial and economic data and to understand some of our more technical financial products.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed my program at MUN and I love teaching mathematics.”
“A mathematics degree has opened a lot of doors for me, especially in these tough times where jobs are scarce and the education system is focussing on mathematics, science and English.”
“I did a joint major in mathematics and computer science. Most of my work involves computer programming for which many mathematical skills are needed.”
“Mathematics: your key to the future!”
“I really enjoyed doing my math degree and met a lot of interesting people and friends.”
What do you consider important about a career? Income? Physical demands? Environment? Security? Stress? The Jobs Related Almanac evaluates 244 careers according to these criteria and selected the five most desirable professions. The top five were actuary, computer programmer, computer analyst, mathematician, statistician -- all these sharing one common feature, mathematics!
With 34 faculty, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics is one of the three largest academic units on campus, ranking behind only the Faculty of Education and the Department of English (1997 data). Our annual course registrations approach 8,000. Despite our heavy teaching and research responsibilities, however, we try never to lose sight of our most important customer -- the student! We sincerely hope that our majors and honours students enjoy their experience in our department, that they thrive in our courses and, after they graduate, find satisfying ways to contribute to the complex and exciting world in which we live today.
Careers in Statistics
Statistics graduates with B. Sc. and/or Master's degree are in high demand for employment among the top science graduates. Every year Statistics Canada, a world-renowned statistical agency and the largest federal government employer in Canada offers a significantly large number of jobs to statistics graduates. Other government or private research organizations also hire statistics graduates regularly. Some of these organizations are: various health research organizations such as Health Canada, provincial cancer agencies, institute of clinical evaluative sciences, provincial centers in HIV/AIDS research, pharmaceutical, and insurance agencies. To help statistics graduates with job inquiries, Statistics Society of Canada has a web page on job opportunities (www.ssc.ca/jobs/e) from various organizations of the country. Job opportunities for statistics graduates may also be found on the web pages of American Statistical Association (http://www.amstat.org/careers/index.cfm) and Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://jobs.imstat.org/c/). In a nut shell, statistics graduates has the nicest job opportunities among others, and Mathematics and Statistics department at Memorial is committed to provide high quality undergraduate and graduate training in statistics, helping graduate students to be ready for either academic or industrial jobs/programs.
Careers in Education
The bachelor of education (intermediate/secondary) program is a 12-month program that follows awarding of a bachelor's degree and is open to students who, in addition to meeting the requirements for a major, have also completed at least 24 credit hours in a subject different from that of their major. Since pure mathematics, applied mathematics and statistics are considered one subject, any student whose major is within the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and who wants to teach in the secondary school system, must have at least 24 credit hours in one of the following subjects:
art, biology, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences, economics, English, folklore, French, geography, history, linguistics, physical education, physics, political science, religious studies.
Furthermore, to be considered for the bachelor of education (intermediate/secondary) degree program, students must have achieved an overall average of at least 65% in 36 of the 45 credit hours required for their major, an overall average of at least 65% in the 24 credit hours of the other subject, and an overall average of at least 65% in their last 60 successfully completed credit hours.
For more information, contact:
Office of Undergraduate Student Services, Faculty of Education
ED-2020, (709) 864-8586/3403