As the new year begins, we resume our look at the vital and perennial student question, What can you do with a math degree besides teach?.
The good news is that mathematical training is valued now as ever! Mathematics is increasingly being used in interdisciplinary settings, particularly in fields where biology and mathematics meet. For example, in the December 4, 2008 article, Ahead-of-the-Curve Careers, U.S. News & World Report identified 13 cutting-edge careers, including these careers for math majors: simulation developer, computational biologist, and data miner.
Actually, in an effort to attract undergraduates to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), three major mathematical societies in the U.S. - the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), the American Mathematical Society (AMS), and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) - have collaborated to develop a web resource, called the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This web site is a rich and growing resource of career profiles, salary information, educational requirements, plus a monthly newsletter for all those who are interested in learning about career opportunities in STEM as well as healthcare fields.
Beyond its contributions to the Sloan Career Cornerstone website, SIAM has just updated its publication, Careers in Math, which identifies the following "emerging career opportunities" for current math majors: Computational Biology or Bioinformatics (mentioned above); Computer Animation and Digital Imaging; Finance and Economics; Ecology, Epidemiology, and Environmental Issues; Climatology, Data Mining, and Material Science.
This month you will meet a Simmons alumna, Estella Kanevsky, Class of 2007, who works in one of the hottest fields where mathematics and biology powerfully intersect: biostatistics.
- How are things going, Estella? What you been doing since we spoke a year ago?
My second year at Yale is great! I can't believe that I'm so close to being done. I'm currently working on my thesis. I'm analyzing a study between the association of breastfeeding and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is a non-invasive breast cancer. It's a case-control study that one of my professors is in charge of. She wants me to publish it. It's really exciting!
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Did you arrive at Simmons knowing you wanted to major in math?
I think I always liked math. In high school I always made sure to take the most advanced courses offered. When I got to college, I didn't know what I wanted to major in, so I kept taking math. Eventually I fell in love with it! -
What did you think you wanted to do with math?
I really wanted to be a teacher. But, along the way I found that I didn't want to teach at the elementary or secondary level. Instead, I wanted to teach at the college level. I wanted to be a professor. -
What have you been doing since leaving Simmons? How does the math you learned at Simmons impact you on a daily?
My thesis topic is in the area of cancer epidemiology. I use regression analysis, logistic regression survival, and basic descriptive statistics. Chi square tests come up a lot.
Also, in my job at Yale School of Medicine, I'm working on a meningioma study, The Meningioma Consortium Study, to identify their causes and effects. Meningioma are relatively common brain tumors, usually benign, which most often occur in middle-aged or elderly women. My supervisor is Elizabeth Claus, M.D., Ph.D., who also does surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital. I interview patients and controls. They're identified from a registry and the controls are selected by random digital dialing. Dr. Claus's study is being funded by the National Institutes of Health. It's the first national meningioma study. It involves patients from 5 states: CA, TX, NC, MA, and CT.
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Where do you see yourself in five years?
I'd like to work for a company where I can pursue my interests in infectious diseases and continue to learn about surveillance, AIDS, cancer, and chronic diseases. -
Do you have any advice for alums?
I think that learning who you are and what you want to do is most important. Loving what you do will get you far!
For a wonderful, in-depth article that describes the field of biostatistics as well as career opportunities, we recommend a beautiful article, Analyse This, which appeared in the science journal, Nature. Meanwhile, should you have questions for Estella or me on this blog, please write. Happy New Year!!
I was a Simmons Math major (BS '71) and went on to get a Masters in Statistics and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Having spent many years in Corporate America, I can say with certainty that my fluency with math and statistics opened (and keeps opening) doors.
Until 2005, I worked for Hewlett-Packard Company. In my last five years with HP, I was responsible for measurement and evaluation for Enterprise Learning at HP. I took early retirement in 2005 and launched my own consulting firm. My focus is helping Learning and HR organizations develop metrics for success and then evaluating programs to determine if they are providing a return on the financial investment. Particularly in hard economic times, more and more organizations are being asked: "What value are you providing to the organization?" Without a method to evaluate effectiveness and provide quantitative evidence, many organizations (particularly in learning and HR) are finding that their budgets are being cut deeper than other parts of the business.
Skills in math, stats and I/O psychology are increasing being sought by companies to help them identify high impact programs and eliminate those with poor returns.
I encourage students and alums to consider the vast possibilities with a degree in math. I would be happy to engage in a conversation with anyone from Simmons on this topic. Just contact me at pparskey@mjpnetwork.com.