Jobs in maths rated best

Johannesburg - If any of last year's matriculants are wondering what to study, and feel capable of more than mere mathematical literacy, they should perhaps register for a BCom in Actuarial Science with an view to globalisation.

According to the CareerCast.com, a US website, the actuarial profession, which determines statistical probability and risk, is this year's best career.

CareerCast.com appraised 200 different professions and rated them against to five criteria: working environment, income, employment prospects, stress and physical effort in order to determine the best and worst professions.

Actuarial science was rated highly because it requires little physical effort and involves a low level of stress. There's also the salary. According to vacancies advertised on CareerJunction.co.za, a South African careers website, an actuary with only two to five years' experience can pocket half a million rand annually.

But prospective students in this discipline need to have scored at least 80% for mathematics, according to the University of Stellenbosch's admission requirements.

Computer enthusiasts, too, according to CareerCast.com, can enjoy their work. The website says that a software engineer is the second-best profession, followed by that of a computer-systems analyst.

Nature lovers and history enthusiasts follow hard on their heels, with careers as biologists and historians occupying fourth and fifth places.

Careers demanding mathematical skills - as in the case of mathematicians, statisticians, accountants, industrial engineers, financial planners and aeronautical engineers - are all ranked among the top 20 by the website.

But while oil drillers may indeed work in exotic places like deserts, on the ocean and in Alaska, CareerCast.com considers them to be the worst off.

- Sake24.com

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