In addition, about 20,000 persons held mathematics faculty positions in colleges and universities in 1998, according to the American Mathematical Society. Many nonfaculty mathematicians work for Federal or State governments. The Department of Defense is the primary Federal employer of mathematicians, accounting for almost three-fourths of the mathematicians employed by the Federal Government. In the private sector, major employers include research and testing services, educational services, security and commodity exchanges, and management and public relations services. Within manufacturing, the drug industry is the key employer.
Some mathematicians also work for banks, insurance companies, and public utilities.
A doctoral degree in mathematics is usually the minimum education needed for prospective mathematicians, with the exception of the Federal Government. In private industry, job candidates typically need a Ph.D. degree to obtain jobs as mathematicians. Most of the positions designated for mathematicians are in research and development laboratories as part of technical teams. These research scientists engage in either basic research on pure mathematical principles or in applied research on developing or improving specific products or processes. The majority of those with a bachelor's or master's degree in mathematics who work in private industry do so not as mathematicians, but in related fields such as computer science, where they have titles such as computer programmer, systems analyst, or systems engineer.