Mathematics, IT and Computing : Types of work

Over a third of mathematics graduates who found employment were working as business or financial professionals, reflecting the increase in the number of graduate vacancies in this career area during 2010. The analytical skills and mathematical competence developed during their course continue to make these graduates attractive to employers. Graduates found work as actuaries (7.6%), chartered accountants (5.0%) and financial analysts (5.0%). According to UK Trade and Investment, government and industry are working together to promote STEM subjects at schools, so it is encouraging that 7.9% of employed mathematic graduates work as education professionals after their degree and 7.5% undertook a teaching qualification.

It is not surprising that, six months after graduating in 2009/10, 44.2% (up from 38.9% in 2009) of employed IT graduates are working as IT professionals, especially as the jobs in this area require the application of technical knowledge gained during their course. Within this group, the majority became software designers and engineers (14.4%), computer analysts and programmers (7.4%) or web developers and producers (5.8%). The increase of over five percent in this group of professionals since last year reflects the significant improvement in the number of opportunities offered by top IT graduate recruiters in 2010 who reported a 77% increase in their vacancies in the High Fliers report 2011.

Graduates in mathematics and IT need to emphasise their technical knowledge and analytical skills to employers. They should also seek to sell themselves by gaining relevant work experience, demonstrating employability skills and targeting their applications to the specific organisation to ensure they stand out.

Salaries

According to figures from the Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey, starting salaries in 2010 for mathematics graduates ranged from £16,500 to £27,500 and those from IT-related degrees were earning between £17,200 and £26,000. According to the AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey 2011 Summer Review, the average expected salary for IT professionals in 2011 is £25,500 (almost half of IT graduates are employed in this capacity six months after graduation). The report also gave anticipated initial salaries for some of the most popular occupations for mathematics graduates, including actuarial work (£27,750), accountancy (£25,000) and financial management (£26,500).