Careers
Claire Pech – Career Advisor
Maths in Focus
One of the talks I went to recently was Janine Macintosh from the Australian Mathematical Science Institute (AMSI). Janine was previously was a Mathematics teacher and now is an advocate for students extending their study of Mathematics. Maths is something that I speak about a lot in my job. Common questions and statements that come up:
- Do I need it?
- Do I have to keep it?
- Will I ever use it?
- Surely if I want to work in the media industry I will never need Maths?
- I really want to study Science, but I don’t enjoy Maths so I am thinking of dropping it
- I love Maths I just hate studying it, so I am going to drop it
- I know I won’t ever use it in my career
- I am an Artsy/’Englishy’ type so Maths is not for me.
Key messages from the AMSI
- Stick with the most advanced Mathematics course for as long as possible
- You can study Mathematics and have really interesting careers
- On LinkedIn the ten most sought after jobs have Mathematical components:
- Statistical analysis/data mining
- SEO marketing (search engine optimisation)
- Software jobs
- Human resources
- Network security
- Mobile development
- User interface design
- Web architecture
- Algorithm design
- Corporate law
Recent data from UNSW
- The number of students in the senior years not studying Mathematics is on the increase. This is having an impact on student retention for other Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects
- Extension 1 and Extension 2 Mathematics numbers are decreasing
- General Mathematics is on the increase
- Only 6% of Extension 1 and 2 Mathematics are girls
So when do I need Mathematics?
- 75% of the fastest growing jobs need STEM graduates
- What do you want in your life? Mathematics can help you do that!
- As of 2019, all Sydney University degrees that are in the STEM arena will require students to have at least a Band 4 in Mathematics 2 Unit. I envisage that other universities will follow suit soon after this to raise a general standard across the university sector.
Mathematical jobs and careers – this is a great resource, looking at where Mathematics can take you.
amsi.org.au//wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/08/Maths-adds-digital.pdf
UNSW information on what level of Mathematics to choose for HSC subjects.
www.maths.unsw.edu.au/highschool/hsc-course-selection
Future teacher scholarships, cadetships and internships
Any Year 12 students interested in getting paid to study teacher education should sign up to be reminded when the 2018 round of NSW Department of Education future teacher scholarships, cadetships and internships open in 2017. Find out more about their wide range of scholarships, cadetships and internships at teach.nsw.edu.au/getpaidtostudy and remember to sign up for an ‘Alert me’.
UTS new degrees in line with industry demand
UTS’ Bachelor of Technology & Innovation (BTi) prepares students interested in the imaginative development and application of technology for a range of roles in creative, management and technical fields. This degree focuses on collaboration, industry opportunities and real world projects.