Career
Mathematicians
Develop mathematical ideas and apply them to real problems.
$126,710
Median pay
+0.6%
Job growth, 2025–35
100
Openings a year
Master's degree
Typical education
6 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Mentor others on mathematical techniques.
- Maintain knowledge in the field by reading professional journals, talking with other mathematicians, and attending professional conferences.
- Develop new principles and new relationships between existing mathematical principles to advance mathematical science.
- Disseminate research by writing reports, publishing papers, or presenting at professional conferences.
- Assemble sets of assumptions, and explore the consequences of each set.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on ideas & analysis, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Mentor others on mathematical techniques.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Mathematics, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Learning.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
6 years of education after high school (master's degree), for a median of $126,710 a year and 100 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- MathematicsSee the degree →
- PhilosophySee the degree →
- StatisticsSee the degree →
- Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, OtherCIP 26.1199
- Mathematics, GeneralCIP 27.0101
- Algebra and Number TheoryCIP 27.0102
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Data Scientists$120,230 · +34.6%
- Physicists$172,250 · +7.2%
- Statisticians$105,650 · +11.0%
- Computer and Information Research Scientists$140,300 · +21.8%
- Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary$79,940 · +1.7%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.