In fact, financial mathematics strictly includes actuaries. Actuaries are mainly financial actuaries and insurance actuaries. The former mainly calculates bank interest and bank reserve. The latter mainly calculates insurance odds and insurance reserves. You need to pass the exam of 17 to get the certificate of quasi-actuary, including the professional courses you have studied such as mathematical analysis, advanced algebra and mathematical statistics, as well as economics, finance, life science and management. After getting a quasi-actuary, you need an internationally recognized actuary to take you to the actuarial certificate. At present, most of China are quasi-actuaries, and the starting salary of the actuarial industry is good. In addition to actuarial science, financial mathematics is probably financial analysis, such as stock option prices and financial trends. Many people who get the highest salary on Wall Street are math majors, but being strong in financial mathematics does not mean that you are strong, just as being in the top 30 of our school's math department does not mean that I must be good, your interest is very important, and your efforts and study.
The department of mathematics is divided into three undergraduate majors: mathematics and applied mathematics, which mainly carries out theoretical research on mathematical application (as most schools do). So it is applied mathematics rather than practical mathematics. I believe that students in our department of mathematics can understand the meaning, but it is very helpful for graduate students in the department of mathematics. If you don't want to take the postgraduate entrance examination for mathematics or continue to develop mathematics, don't choose.
The second is information and computational mathematics. This major is mainly developed in the direction of computer and information. Let me help you analyze the mathematics of computers and information. Most people tell you that the math department turns to computers. Let me tell you the general situation. We finished learning C++ and data structure in our sophomore year. Computer programs can be divided into two parts, one is data structure, and the other is algorithm. Computer programs are essentially composed of data, so many programs need to organize data structures. Of course, you are required to be familiar with computer languages (it is suggested that learning C and JAVA is a little simple for us, but it is really not as easy to use as C. If possible, we can train to program under LINUX conditions). The second part is the algorithm. The ability of algorithm design of students majoring in mathematics is higher than that of students majoring in computer science. Remember that this major is called information and computational mathematics, and the latter computational mathematics studies algorithms. The current calculation is not done by human, but how to do it in a computer, which requires a suitable algorithm. For example, you can add and multiply the combination numbers first, or you can add 1 and 2 in turn to get 65438. Computational mathematics is to study how to design algorithms for calculation, such as optimizing calculation. Optimization calculation is to maximize the benefit through reasonable scheduling under given conditions, and further development is another branch of mathematics, which mainly deals with calculation problems. Information science is mainly like image processing and signal processing. Images and signals are essentially numbers represented by mapping some symbols in a computer. Students in the department of mathematics mainly study the relationship between them, and cryptography is the most developed one. These are all abilities that computer majors don't have. Mathematics mainly develops in the direction of computers. It is suggested that we should learn database well (at least learn SQL SEVER) when developing towards informationization. In addition, one direction of applied mathematics is graph theory, which studies network optimization, that is, how to design the lines of telecom companies, including the help of computational mathematics. There are many calculation softwares in mathematics, and MATLAB is the most commonly used one (necessary for mathematical modeling). No matter which major you study mathematics, or develop in other directions in the future, you must learn some of this software, and also, you must model.
The third major is mathematical statistics, mainly through data analysis. Statisticians are very popular in the United States, and statisticians account for a high proportion of the population. I majored in this major. The model I built includes McGrady's value analysis of rockets (nothing to joke about), the factors that determine the tuition fees of higher education (the rematch of the 2008 National Mathematical Modeling Competition for College Students), and discovering the essence of information and affairs development through data. As for probability, it is mainly to plan and estimate uncertain events, which is true of most financial mathematics and actuarial science, so you should choose mathematical statistics. Data analysts also make great contributions to climate data analysis (weather forecast), geological data analysis and biological data analysis (judgment of pathogens or diseases). Professor Li Xianping of Fudan University judges the author of A Dream of Red Mansions by analyzing the frequency of function words in it.
If you don't know which direction to go, you can go to the Department of Mathematics for graduate study. The learning ability of mathematics students is still good. After graduation, you can look at the employment unit and then learn the corresponding knowledge. Remember, IT training and economist training are all over the street in society, but there is no training center for training mathematics, so it is very good for you to choose the department of mathematics. Statistical direction must learn statistical software, such as SAS SPSS, EXCEL. Students who don't know software are half-useless. Note that statistics is learning to use software, not making software.
In addition, there are other directions in the department of mathematics, except the above-mentioned biological mathematics and geological mathematics. Another general direction is management mathematics. Just now I mentioned operational research, which studies the scheduling problem in reality. Operational research is a compulsory course in a strong management school like Xi Jiaotong University, and strong computational mathematics ability is also essential in management numerical analysis. Statistics also occupies a considerable position in management mathematics. Just now I talked about random event planning, which is particularly useful for planning some uncertain problems. Queuing theory, the classical application of Markov process in probability theory (queuing theory is now applied to logistics), is also very useful for warehouse inventory control and market demand analysis. I analyzed the market demand of our group in the 2008 national college students' business plan competition. In addition, data analysis can be used to analyze the performance of employees (HR's favorite).
Another development direction of mathematics is economic mathematics. This kind of mathematics relies on statistics and computational mathematics to analyze the national economic situation through data analysis.
To sum up:
1, financial mathematics (including actuarial science), has a good job in the United States, but you must have knowledge of economics, finance, mathematics and statistics at the same time. If you want to be an actuary, you should also study professional insurance and longevity. You have learned a lot, with high technical content. The annual salary of junior actuaries in the United States is more than 6,543,800+,and the total actuaries are millions of dollars. Undergraduate courses in applied mathematics or statistics are acceptable. General actuaries or financial mathematicians graduate with a master's degree with a monthly salary of about 5,000 to 6,000.
2. Information and computer mathematics. Mainly carry out algorithm design and research. We are not in conflict with learning computers, they are structural design, and we are algorithm design. Algorithm researchers have a high employment rate, and our advantages are irreplaceable. The annual salary of master graduates is not low, but undergraduate students can only be general programmers first because they are not proficient enough. It is suggested that you apply for information and computational mathematics, learn programming language well, and learn database well if you are interested in information.
3. Management mathematics. Just look at the trust of Rocket General Manager Morey in statisticians. In addition, operational research is widely used in the United States. More than half of the computer calculations in the United States are linear programming (Chapter 1 of Operations Research). Through operational research, NASA completed the space shuttle program several years ahead of schedule, and more than 95% of management activities need linear planning. Operations research is also a master's major. If you want to study, I suggest you study in America. Practical mathematics in the United States is very strong, and most of China's operational research is theoretical. If you want to make suggestions on management mathematics in general enterprises and choose statisticians, the effect of small-scale operation is not obvious. Logistics managers have a high demand for mathematical modeling ability, and wages are not available in the United States.
4. Give you some advice. China, Cai Ying can go online and have a look. Enter the keyword mathematics in the recruitment position in Beijing and Shanghai, and you will know the requirements of enterprises for mathematics majors. Several students in the department of basic mathematics require generations to learn well and excel in professional courses. No matter what major, you must understand the basic C language and database.
I have basically told you the employment direction of students majoring in mathematics, and the employment prospects are very good. The key is your interest or what you want to do. If you are in China, it is recommended to choose computer mathematics or data analysis. At present, the recognition of operational research in China is not high. And see what your strengths are, statistics is sensitive to data and probability, and financial mathematics requires you to like data very much (I am. . Shameless), computer mathematics needs your rigor and accuracy, as well as BT's imagination in algorithm design. If you want to learn management mathematics, it is suggested that you study statistics or computer mathematics first (at least for a master's degree), mix jobs in the unit by professional skills, and then take an MBA, mainly focusing on English (this is the same) and logic (students in the mathematics department! ), mathematics (students in the mathematics department! ! ), writing. Of course, there is a lot of management pressure, unlike computer mathematics and financial mathematics, which rely on technology to eat, and their wages are stable and respected, but managers who have studied mathematics are extremely rational. Two of the top ten richest people in Forbes China are scientific mathematics. Finally, if you are interested in pure mathematics, that's good. Senior math teachers all over the world are well paid, researchers are highly subsidized, and the pressure is low. Moreover, the gap of higher mathematics teachers in China is huge! ! But you have to be a doctor to be a university teacher.
Mathematics students have a great social demand (because it is difficult to learn) and a big gap (because it is difficult to learn). However, many graduates from the department of mathematics are not qualified students in the department of mathematics, and many of them (because they are difficult to learn), so many students in the department of mathematics have poor employment (because they have not learned anything, it is strange to find a good job). According to your interests and abilities, and of course the life you want to live, the treatment of students majoring in mathematics in the United States is much better than that in China.