What does a Mathematician do?

Conduct research in fundamental mathematics or in application of mathematical techniques to science, management, and other fields. Day to day that includes work like address the relationships of quantities, magnitudes, and forms through the use of numbers and symbols and Disseminate research by writing reports, publishing papers, or presenting at professional conferences.

What skills should a Mathematician put on a resume?

O*NET rates Mathematics, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Active Learning, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Mathematician list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Photoshop, Algae, AMPL, Analyse-it, and Analysis and Visualization of Time Sequences AVTS. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Mathematician work?

O*NET records 17 titles for this occupation, including Computational Mathematician, Cryptographer, Research Scientist, and Computational Scientist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Mathematician need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 50% reported their level of education as "Doctoral Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Mathematician role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Mathematician resume example

A resume for a Mathematician needs to show the work itself: conduct research in fundamental mathematics or in application of mathematical techniques to science, management, and other fields. Day to day that means work like this: address the relationships of quantities, magnitudes, and forms through the use of numbers and symbols; disseminate research by writing reports, publishing papers, or presenting at professional conferences. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Computational Mathematician
Cryptographer
Research Scientist
Computational Scientist
Cryptographic Vulnerability Analyst
Image Scientist
Knowledge Engineer
Research Computing Specialist
Researcher
Algebraist
Applied Mathematician
Cipher Expert
Cryptanalyst
Engineering Mathematician
Game Mathematician
Geometrician
Math Researcher

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Address the relationships of quantities, magnitudes, and forms through the use of numbers and symbols.
Disseminate research by writing reports, publishing papers, or presenting at professional conferences.
Maintain knowledge in the field by reading professional journals, talking with other mathematicians, and attending professional conferences.
Apply mathematical theories and techniques to the solution of practical problems in business, engineering, the sciences, or other fields.
Conduct research to extend mathematical knowledge in traditional areas, such as algebra, geometry, probability, and logic.
Develop mathematical or statistical models of phenomena to be used for analysis or for computational simulation.
Perform computations and apply methods of numerical analysis to data.
Assemble sets of assumptions, and explore the consequences of each set.
Develop new principles and new relationships between existing mathematical principles to advance mathematical science.
Develop computational methods for solving problems that occur in areas of science and engineering or that come from applications in business or industry.
Design, analyze, and decipher encryption systems designed to transmit military, political, financial, or law-enforcement-related information in code.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Address the relationships of quantities, magnitudes, and forms through the use of numbers and symbols, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Disseminate research by writing reports, publishing papers, or presenting at professional conferences, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Maintain knowledge in the field by reading professional journals, talking with other mathematicians, and attending professional conferences, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Apply mathematical theories and techniques to the solution of practical problems in business, engineering, the sciences, or other fields, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Photoshop
Algae
AMPL
Analyse-it
Analysis and Visualization of Time Sequences AVTS
Apfloat
Apple macOS
Apple Shazam
Aptech Systems GAUSS
ARfit
Aztec
Bash
C
C#

90 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Desktop computers
Graphing calculators
Laptop computers
Optical disk drives
Personal computers
Supercomputers
Universal serial bus USB flash drives

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

C#
C++
Python
The MathWorks MATLAB
Adobe Photoshop
Bash
C
CSS
XML
HTML

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Mathematics
02Critical Thinking
03Complex Problem Solving
04Active Learning
05Reading Comprehension
06Science
07Judgment and Decision Making
08Writing
09Active Listening
10Learning Strategies

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Mathematics
English Language
Computers and Electronics
Education and Training

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

50%Doctoral Degree
25%Master's Degree
8%Bachelor's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Mathematician do?: Conduct research in fundamental mathematics or in application of mathematical techniques to science, management, and other fields. Day to day that includes work like address the relationships of quantities, magnitudes, and forms through the use of numbers and symbols and Disseminate research by writing reports, publishing papers, or presenting at professional conferences.
What skills should a Mathematician put on a resume?: O*NET rates Mathematics, Critical Thinking, Complex Problem Solving, Active Learning, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Mathematician list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Photoshop, Algae, AMPL, Analyse-it, and Analysis and Visualization of Time Sequences AVTS. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Mathematician work?: O*NET records 17 titles for this occupation, including Computational Mathematician, Cryptographer, Research Scientist, and Computational Scientist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Mathematician need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 50% reported their level of education as "Doctoral Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Mathematician role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.