Career Profile: Mathematicians

Salary and Outlook

According to the US Department of Labor, there are 2,000 people employed as mathematicians in the United States. The median annual salary is $108,100. Entry level employees earn approximately $61,760 per year and senior employees earn approximately $169,500 per year.

Estimates do not include other potential benefits such as health insurance, overtime, or retirement benefits that may be offered by employers.

Job Duties

• Address the relationships of quantities, magnitudes, and forms through the use of numbers and symbols.
• Disseminate research by writing reports, publishing papers, or presenting at professional conferences.
• Maintain knowledge in the field by reading professional journals, talking with other mathematicians, and attending professional conferences.
• Apply mathematical theories and techniques to the solution of practical problems in business, engineering, the sciences, or other fields.
• Conduct research to extend mathematical knowledge in traditional areas, such as algebra, geometry, probability, and logic.
• Develop mathematical or statistical models of phenomena to be used for analysis or for computational simulation.
• Perform computations and apply methods of numerical analysis to data.
• Assemble sets of assumptions and explore the consequences of each set.
• Develop new principles and new relationships between existing mathematical principles to advance mathematical science.
• Develop computational methods for solving problems that occur in areas of science and engineering or that come from applications in business or industry.
• Design, analyze, and decipher encryption systems designed to transmit military, political, financial, or law-enforcement-related information in code.

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