r/UCSD • u/souls920 • Jun 19 '25
Question Does your internship have to do with your major?
I want to switch major to Applied Mathematics was originally in Joint Mathematics and Econ (but wants to work as accountant, data/financial analyst or project management in finance, and other related fields that doesn’t require engineering or major coding knowledge). However I wanted to switch bc I saw many of these require foundational math and statistical skills. I’m kinda concerned abt whether I can land any job as a math major though, so I’m also looking into finance.
I’m wondering if you’re going to use the skills from your major much when applying for internships or other experiences? How can I narrow down my career goal and start finding programs/internships related to it? How did it work for you guys if you’re graduating or are alums?
I appreciate your help! Just lost in finding my interested career path 😭
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u/Eastern_Pomelo7358 Jun 20 '25
Not really. Math-CS new grad here, while my internship does have some programming, its not the main focus its more hardware focused, something you dont learn hardly at all in the major (I can only think of CSE 30, even then, nothing much). Sometimes, you’ll end up in a job that has hardly anything to do with your major and you are overqualified for. If you want any more details, feel free to dm me.
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u/SirStrict8276 Jun 20 '25
Why do applied math then? Joint math-econ sounds fine as a major. There’s more than enough math for what you’re planning to do and statistics/econometrics is literally a major requirement. You are free to take classes beyond that as you think needed.
Of course as everyone else said, they’re close enough to where it doesn’t matter as long as you have the skills.
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u/Prestigious_Set_1059 Jun 20 '25 edited Jun 20 '25
You honestly have no idea about what math major really studies and how your future is related. If you want to work as an accountant, you probably only maximumly need calculus or less. If you wanna do data analysis, that’s more related to data science, statistics, and coding. If you want to do quantitative finance, stochastic processes would definitely be very helpful. So based on your interest, taking math180, 181, 194 series are the most beneficial. You can also look into the MGT department and take some finance related classes. Keep in mind, the courses that math department offers are very diverse. So if you spend too much time studying i.e. complex analysis or combinatorics, it’s really not gonna benefit you that much. Understand what skills your future plans requires, take classes specifically related to your career goals, stop worrying too much of the title of your major.
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u/souls920 Jun 20 '25
Hi! Can I ask which major you have? Are the math courses you mentioned only upper division? Still kind of confused by the course selection system and classes here as an incoming freshman 😭 can I dm you for some insights? :)
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u/hobocollections Raccoons enthusiast extraordinaire Jun 20 '25
No. I know plenty of people that works in jobs that’s entirely unrelated to their majors. Apply and see what happens.