Why is Maths a great career choice?

We spoke to the Deputy Head of the Mathematics Department, Thomas to find out what possibilities are available...

Why should I study Maths?

Mathematics is used in almost everything you can or will interact with, within the real world. The acceleration you feel in a car, how much interest you gain in your bank account, or even why leap years exist; it’s all maths. Understanding these concepts in a more intuitive way will give you the options to proceed in your career in the direction you want to.

Here at Aston, we provide you with an enthusiastic maths department whose love for maths shows through in their teaching, helping you gain understanding as you progress in your studies. Most of the teaching staff in Aston’s Mathematics Department are also active researchers at the cutting edge of their respective fields, which include areas such as machine learning and modeling of complex real-world situations, which you’ll get to learn about during your maths degree here.

Employers are always looking for graduates who have some knowledge of these because they are the kinds of mathematics that are still becoming applicable to more and more areas of everyday life as we look forward to an increasingly automated world.

Do you support with Placements?

One of the great parts of the degree programme here at Aston is the chance to take a year out and work in the industry.This opportunity allows you to take the mathematics that you have learned and apply it in real-life situations.

We strongly encourage and support students to take a placement during their degree at a company that recruits the kind of graduates our students will become, which is what makes it one of the top universities in the country for graduate employability. Mathematics opens the door to a variety of different careers, many of which need the mathematics that you will learn in your degree. A degree in mathematics is a great investment in your future, it not only teaches you lots of exciting mathematics, but it also teaches you how to problem solve, how to program, and how to communicate effectively. 

A mathematics degree at Aston will take everything you learned at A-Levels and build upon it in a well-structured and exciting way. You will discover the many different ways in which mathematics is used in real-life situations and also learn about some of the more abstract concepts in mathematics. 

What type of jobs can I get into with a Maths degree?

Maths isn’t just for teachers!

If you want to become the next big thing in game development or work on the next vaccine, mathematics can take you almost anywhere. In any job, we guarantee that there is some level of maths used there. Unlike some other subjects, a maths degree can be extremely valuable in almost any job, in any industry. That’s because when you learn mathematics, you learn how to analyse problems rigorously and solve them creatively, as well as manage your own time and workload and explain your ideas to a range of audiences, and these are precisely the skills needed for practically every job imaginable. The types of jobs available to you are almost unlimited.

There are many traditional paths that you can take such as accountancy, actuarial sciences, or teaching, but a degree in mathematics teaches you far more than just how to deal with numbers. It teaches you how to problem solve, a vital skill in careers such as programming or consultancy. A degree in mathematics could lead to a career in research, both within industry or in an academic environment.

What key skills do I need?

A sense of inquisitiveness for why things behave the way they do in the real world will take you far. A willingness to work independently, or as a team alongside your peers will be needed at university level. A love of maths, in general, will always help too! Of course, you need to be confident in the mathematical processes that you’ve studied at A-level because the material you will come across at university will build and expand on them just as much as they expand on maths you learned earlier. To study maths at Aston, the main thing you need is a mind that’s open and able to hold ideas that may not make sense at first, in order to be able to connect the abstract with the real world through study and practice. And don’t worry if you don’t feel like you have this, because it’s something that can be learned too, and you will have plenty of help and support in developing your mathematical mind once you get here.

"A degree in mathematics is a journey of discovery, it helps to have an inquisitive mind and to ask ‘how’ and ‘why?’ These types of questions will allow you to dive deeper into the subject. Another key skill is resilience and determination. A degree in mathematics isn’t always easy, but if you have the determination and motivation to succeed, you will do".