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Prime options: High-paying math careers with projected fast growth

February 2022

Math occupations offer a formula for success. In fact, some workers count on math for high-paying, fast-growing careers.

The chart highlights U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data for selected occupations in which mathematics is prime. Each occupation shown in the chart had a median annual wage greater than $41,950—the median wage for all workers in 2020. And each occupation is projected to have employment growth that’s much faster than the 8-percent average rate for all occupations over the 2020–30 decade.

Many math-focused occupations, including actuaries and logisticians, typically require a bachelor’s degree for an entry level position. But there are opportunities for people without a degree, too. For example, computer numerically controlled (CNC) tool programmers and industrial machinery mechanics use math to compute proper settings for equipment, and solar photovoltaic (PV) installers must calculate measurements such as area and angles.

The occupations in the chart aren’t the only ones in which math has value. Mathematical knowledge is important in business and financial, construction, science and many other occupations. Learn about what workers do, the education required to enter, and wages and outlook for these and more occupations in the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). You can also visit the OOH field of degree pages for data from BLS and the U.S. Census Bureau on a variety of academic majors, including mathematics.