Stem Degree - What Next?

[WhatNext2020]

Just looking for some advice on where to go from here really.

I’m currently teaching Mathematics in a secondary school, I have a 2:1 Honours degree in Mathematics but would like to take the plunge and enter a more lucrative field.

Can anyone recommend what professional exams I could do in private to increase my employability/earning potential?

What do you want to do though? Just saying you want to earn more isn't massively helpful, and for many jobs the professional exams without experience won't get you in any higher than not having them

Ever tried software development?

I'm not sure what qualifications I would suggest but I would suggest playing around with some code a little to see if it interested you.

Software dev in some form is what 80% of my cohort from my maths MSc did ( not including the ones who went onto PhD).

At the moment I’m interested in investment consultancy, asset management, tax, programming, insurance. What exams/courses would more or less guarantee me a career at the end? Don’t really want to spend the next few years doing ACA, looking for something more specific.

Definitely open to software development just not sure how I would get into it.

So software Dev is still quite fluid when it comes to qualifications. Where I work experience + a degree in a STEM is enough to be considered. I myself have no formal software qualification just two degrees in applied maths.

That's why I suggest at least having a play at the free tutorials on somewhere like code academy first to see if it's right for you. Or perhaps going to something like codebar if you have a local one?

www.codebar.io/

If you like it then you could see if you could contribute to some open source software to get some experience.

I cannot speak for anything else on your list I'm afraid.

If you have any interest in the markets I'd be looking at quant/analyst jobs in finance. Do you know how to code? If you can code in Python, Java or C++ that could be a plus depending on the role (eg building quant models.

The other usual avenues are accounting, actuary, consulting. Depending on how old/expensive you are, a graduate scheme in a bank, entry-level job in asset management or a fund could be interesting, one of the big 4 for consultancy, audit or accounting, or a management consultancy.

(I work in private equity and our investment associates are all hired just with a STEM degree and then get their CFA on the job.)

Thank you all for your suggestions so far. Will definitely be looking into these, my only worry is that I’ve ‘missed the boat’ for a graduate scheme as I graduated 5 years ago.

I just looked at a couple investment bank ones and there were no apparent age or post-grad year eligibility criteria.

Maybe if they thought you had too much experience they'd ask you to apply directly for a role, instead of a graduate scheme, but if you're changing career I think you're still allowed to apply for grad schemes. Only one way to find out!!

Brilliant thank you! Will definitely start putting some applications in.

Don't worry about missing the boat! I did the PWC IT consultant graduate scheme and loved it - a couple of us were older with phds and a few had done teaching jobs like you so not everyone was fresh out of university. Good luck!