Employability - Durham University

Undergraduate Employability and Careers

Graduates standing in line

A degree in Mathematics will equip you for a wide variety of professions and employment, as well as for advanced postgraduate study of Mathematics and related disciplines.

89% of Mathematics graduates secured employment or went on to further study 15 months after graduating.¹ Many Durham maths students continue to study with us for a postgraduate qualification, taking advantage of our Durham alumni tuition fees discount.

I completed an MMath 1999-2003, I choose as many applied courses as possible. [...] I would say that the training I received in setting up a problem in a way that is amenable to attack with mathematical tools in hand was very formative. Currently, I lead a team of about seven senior scientists in the pharmaceutical industry where we use mathematical modelling to help bring medicines to patients.

Richard Allen

Research Fellow and Quantitative Systems Pharmacology Lead, Pfizer.

Sought-After Skills for Diverse Careers

A Mathematics degree from Durham University equips you with a valuable set of skills. In addition to a high level of numeracy, you will graduate with the ability to: employ a rigorous approach to problem solving, handle abstract concepts, apply logical thinking to a task, and analyse and interpret data effectively. This makes mathematicians highly sought after across a range of industries.

Here are just some of the graduate-level jobs and sectors into which our recent Mathematics students have progressed, according to our alumni surveys.

Selection UG maths graduate careers

Business & Management (consumer insight analyst, management consulting, marketing analyst)
Computing/IT (computer programmer, data scientist, IT consultant, machine learning engineer, software developer/engineer, web designer)
Engineering (aerodynamicist, test engineer)
Finance & Insurance (accountancy, actuarial work, investment banking, risk analyst, statistical analyst)
Further study (postgraduate teacher training course, MSc or PhD in a variety of subjects)
Government/Civil Service (data scientist, operations research analyst, statistician)
Legal (patent attorney, solicitor)
Research and Development (data scientist, research scientist, statistical consultant)
Retail (pricing strategist, retail merchandiser, supply chain analyst)
Scientific research (clinical statistician, hydrology consultant, research scientist)
Teaching (primary, secondary (maths/physics)
Transport (airline pilot, operations research, transport planner)
Other (charity manager, environmental consultant, publishing editor)

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In-Demand Skills and Expert Career Support

As a Durham graduate, you will possess highly desirable skills that set you apart in a competitive job market so that you can be ready to embark on your career with confidence. You will also benefit from expert career planning support through the Careers & Enterprise Centre, which offers specialist career advisors to guide you throughout your studies and beyond. Resources include workshops on securing internships, navigating the job market, and preparing effective applications, as well as one-on-one sessions for CV writing, interview preparation, and access to a suite of online tools.

Careers Support

The Careers & Enterprise Centre is available to current students, and also offers lifelong support to Durham graduates. They will help you to make career plans and take the next steps to where you want to be.

Find out more