OVERVIEW

For ages mathematicians have made many invisible and unsung contributions to advancements in science and technology. In recent years, they have   become more numerous and more visible in the U.S. workforce.

Academe continues to be the dominant employer of mathematics degree holders But more and more jobs require direct use of mathematics, and an increasing number of job titles are reflecting this. More than ever,  mathematicians have an opportunity to make a lasting contribution to society by helping to solve problems in such diverse fields as medicine, management, economics, government, computer science, physics, psychology, engineering, and social science.

Prospects for employment opportunities are very good. A bachelor's degree in mathematics is excellent preparation for such diverse fields as statistics, actuarial science, mathematics modeling and cryptography.
Demand for scientists, engineers and technicians is strong. Shortages of qualified school teachers continue.

THE ROAD MAP

Mathematics is a field with surprising variety of specialties which have different "feels" to them. You probably won't like all of them equally, any more than most musicians feel the same about rock and classical music, or most English majors like all authors and periods equally. So if you come across a math course that isn't your favorite, but there are others that you really like, it just means that you are getting to know math better and your taste is becoming more refined.

The boundaries between some of the, areas are very fuzzy (for example, there are algebraic geometers and analytic number theorists). You should not take the sizes on this map too seriously--they have more to do with fitting in names than anything else.