• Question: What qualifications did you need to get into your job?

    Asked by BeenP on 9 Nov 2020.
    • Photo: Nathan Turner

      Nathan Turner answered on 9 Nov 2020:


      For my job as a Naval Ships Modelling Engineer I needed the following:
      – Degree or PhD in Physics/Engineering/Mathematics
      – Experience of computer modelling techniques for engineering design
      – Knowledge and understanding of mathematical modelling
      – Experience working in teams
      – Achieved or working towards Chartership

      Most entry-level engineering jobs will require a Masters Degree (4 years at uni) but some you can do with a Bachelors degree (3 years at uni). It’s very important to have good communication & teamwork skills too! Chartership is something you get later in your career (after a few years of experience) which validates your skills of applying maths in your field of work.

    • Photo: Sarah Brown

      Sarah Brown answered on 9 Nov 2020:


      I am just finishing a PhD in Mathematics. For this I needed a First class degree and/or a Masters degree in the field (I had both).

    • Photo: Eduard Campillo-Funollet

      Eduard Campillo-Funollet answered on 9 Nov 2020:


      I am currently a postdoctoral researcher, which means exactly that: I needed a PhD to get my current position. Other than the PhD, what was taken into account was:

      – Experience in computer modelling
      – Experience in data analysis
      – General knowledge about the research topic (in my case, biology and genetics).

    • Photo: Chris Budd

      Chris Budd answered on 9 Nov 2020:


      I have an undergraduate degree in maths, a masters degree in maths and a PhD in
      maths. I have also worked a lot in industry where I got extra training in computing.

      BUT my main training in maths has simply been to DO a lot of maths. Maths isnt
      a spectator sport. You mainly learn maths by doing a lot of it.

    • Photo: Hannah West

      Hannah West answered on 9 Nov 2020:


      To get my job as a systems engineer I needed a degree in a relevant subject (physics, maths, engineering). If you want to choose this career straight out of university that is what you need, in addition to having done internships during university. I am joining at a higher level for which I needed a Masters degree (which I have in physics) and a PhD.

      Moving back from this to do a degree you will need A levels in the right subjects (in my case maths and physics) and before that your GCSEs.

    • Photo: Tom Ranner

      Tom Ranner answered on 9 Nov 2020:


      I needed to have a PhD in maths, computer science or other related field to qualify for my job. For my maths PhD, I need to have a good undergraduate degree in maths. For my undergraduate degree i needed to have studied A levels in maths and further maths (and two others!)

    • Photo: Alan Walker

      Alan Walker answered on 9 Nov 2020:


      For my current role as Lecturer in Mathematics, I required a PhD in Mathematics (or related subject). However in my last role in international finance, all that was required was a degree in a numerical or business subject. In my team of six, all but one had a maths, stats, or physics degree.

    • Photo: Christos Klerides

      Christos Klerides answered on 9 Nov 2020:


      For my job as a graduate mathematical modeller, I needed a minimum of an upper second class degree (BSc) in Mathematics and Statistics.

    • Photo: Sophie Carr

      Sophie Carr answered on 9 Nov 2020:


      I studied engineering first and then did a masters in applied maths and fluid mechanics. I ended up doing a PhD in Bayesian networks but that’s not essential at all for the work I do. What is essential is a good understanding of statistics.

    • Photo: Thomas Woolley

      Thomas Woolley answered on 11 Nov 2020:


      I’m a mathematical lecturer at Cardiff University, so I needed a PhD, but I needed a Masters to get the PhD and A-levels to get the Masters. I’ve also gained an accreditaion by the Higher Education Academy that helps me do my job better.

    • Photo: Francesca Iezzi

      Francesca Iezzi answered on 16 Nov 2020: last edited 16 Nov 2020 3:42 pm


      I am now working in Maths Communication (basically, trying to help people to love Maths and showing how Maths can be fun and how we see Maths everywhere in our lives). Before that I completed:
      – A Master’s in Maths
      – A PhD in Maths

      Overall, I would say the following are essential in my job:
      – Some knowledge of different areas of Mathematics
      – Passion about Maths
      – Being enthusiastic and passionate about communicating with other people

    • Photo: Kate Elliott

      Kate Elliott answered on 16 Nov 2020:


      The minimum needed for my job would be an undergraduate degree in physics (or maybe maths, chemistry, computer science or similar) then you can do the NHS scientist trainee program (STP) this is a 3 year (paid) course where you work in different areas in the hospital before specialising and do a masters in medical physics at the same time. There is also a professional qualification at the end of the training to make you a registered clinical scientist (you’re not allowed to call yourself a clinical scientist until you have completed this!)

    • Photo: Heather Collis

      Heather Collis answered on 17 Nov 2020:


      I’m a PhD student in mathematical biology. To study for a PhD in this field, I needed a first class masters degree in mathematics – there were no biology requirements for my PhD.

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