Some people are born with a brain that loves and understands numbers. If you were blessed with this innate skill, it’s in your best interest to leverage it as part of your career. But which careers exist for math nerds like you? You may be happy to learn that there are plenty to go around.
7 Career Options to Consider
Whether you want to work in a fast-paced environment or a more methodical workplace with greater predictability, there are plenty of options to choose from. Here are several that should be at the top of your career wish list:
1. Accountant
Accounting is a great field. The barrier to entry in the lower rungs of the field isn’t very high. However, there are plenty of diverse options and lots of room for upward mobility.
If accounting is something of interest, you’ll want to begin by considering whether you want a job in public or private accounting. Public accounting is ideal if you want a faster track to the corporate world where you get to work with one of the big four firms (Deloitte, PwC, EY, or KPMG).
These are competitive jobs, but they offer lots of promise if you can get your foot in the door. Private accounting lets you dig more into a specific industry and keep a strong focus on one specific area.
Whichever path you choose, you’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree. If you choose to become a CPA, you’ll need a master’s degree in accounting as well.
2. Bookkeeper
People often get accounting and bookkeeping mixed up, but there are some differences. And if you aren’t fully committed to going the accountancy route, you can always try this option.
“Many people think you’ve got to be a CPA to be a bookkeeper—but really, you can get the skills you need for the business without becoming a CPA,” explains Ben Robinson of Bookkeepers.com. “Our bookkeeping courses have trained thousands of people and helped them launch their bookkeeping business without going the full route of becoming a CPA.”
The beauty of bookkeeping is that it’s scalable. You can build your own business working from home. You can even do it part-time as a stay-at-home parent (or as a side gig to supplement your primary income).
3. Auditor
Auditors spend their time preparing and reviewing financial records and accounting statements to ensure accuracy. In this career, you can work as an internal auditor for large organizations and firms (helping eliminate waste and fraud). You can also work as an external auditor, which lets you perform similar tasks for oversight organizations.
4. Research Analyst
There has never been more data in the business world than today. (And there will be even more data tomorrow, and so forth.) Research analysts work with various companies and organizations to help make sense of all this data.
They uncover inefficiencies, identify opportunities, and make data-driven decisions that move their organizations forward. Research analysts can play a key role in marketing, advertising, supply chain management, product development, and more.
5. Financial Analyst
Financial analysts are included under the heading of “research analysts.” They simply focus their efforts on financial firms, such as banks, hedge funds, and insurance companies. Financial analysts perform a number of jobs, including developing internal financial reports, reviewing company performance from an external perspective, optimizing portfolios for fund managers, and judging future investment risk.
6. Statistician
As a statistician, you can work in any number of fields. This includes general business, engineering, life sciences, and even professional sports. Job roles include developing surveys and questionnaires, collecting data, interpreting data, writing research reports, and helping inform important decision making within these fields.
Statisticians often work very closely with chemical engineers, drugmakers, and R&D departments within large organizations.
7. Actuary
An actuary’s job is to calculate and analyze the financial cost of taking on risk using a combination of data, projections, and forecasting models, and financial theory. Actuaries are often hired by insurance companies and financial firms to set policy rates and make important financial decisions.
Start Building Your Dream Career!
If you’re good with numbers and have a willingness to stretch yourself, one of these careers may be a good fit for you. The only way to know is by doing some research, speaking with others in the field, and willingly putting yourself out there.
