This is a follow-up to the recent post Mathematics majors: are most of you wasting time and money?

The following post was made on WrongPlanet during the height of the Great Recession, so it’s perhaps a little understandable that the writer was finding it hard to get a decent job, or any job at all.

Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 2:33 am Post subject: Graduated with a Math degree… feel like a moron.

“So as the title says, I recently graduated with a degree in Mathematics. Joy of joys… it’s supposed to be a proud moment in my life. But now my situation is sinking in and I can’t find anything to do with my new-fangled degree.

Nothing in the job listings seems applicable to my skills, or they require some technical jargon laden skill set. Or there are accounting or business or financial jobs where I would have to wear a suit and all the office politics. I don’t even own a suit or understand these work environments.

It seems like I’ll have to go get a factory job, grocery store or Wal-Mart type job. But that type of employment seems counter to all the expectations and self esteem and what have you that has been building up in me over the last 26 years.

I don’t even know what I’m writing this for. I have two parts to me… parts that are too smart… and parts that are too dumb.

I’m glad I had a good time studying math… I might as well have spent those 6 years getting drunk and doing drugs….Because now I’m paying the price for studying what I like and not heeding the advice of those who said that there was really no jobs for those who study math exclusively.”

What do you think mathematics majors? Is this your experience?