The Career Center
The U of I Career Center is a great resource for all things career, from early career exploration to resume writing, job searching and company research, grad school prep, interview prep, and job posts (through I-Link) and internship info. The Career Center just launched an updated version of the program EPICS 2.0. This program can be useful to help you find a career interest all the way to helping you prepare for an interview.
The Career Center also offers many materials on their website, and are conveniently located just down the street from Illini Hall if you¿d like to set up an appointment or take advantage of their drop-in services. You can sign up for their Career Connections weekly newsletter to keep up to date on upcoming events and opportunities, as well as other newsletters geared toward international students, freshmen, and students interested in health careers. The previous link will also get to social media (like Twitter and Facebook) connections to the Career Center as well.
INTLConnect (for international students)
INTLConnect is specifically for international students. The website contains information about work authorization, job searching, resumes and interviewing, workshops, and more geared toward the specific needs of international job seekers.
You can think of LinkedIn as a social networking site for your career. In addition to being great for maintaining your professional connections, it¿s a nice resource for job postings, interest and alumni groups, and articles on career related topics. They also have a website university.linkedin.com full of resources for setting up your profile and using LinkedIn effectively as well as an Illinois Department of Mathematics LinkedIn page. Join today!
University of Illinois Alumni Association
Networking with alumni is often an excellent way to find out about career paths and opportunities. This is one of the functions the Alumni Association has. They have a Career Center and a Virtual Career Center, and also have a group on LinkedIn which can all be valuable resources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the advantage of being an math major?
As a math major, yes, a majority of jobs are not tailored to us, however, the problem solving and analytical skills are something that companies want. Companies are approaching the University of Illinois Mathematics Department for a reason; we are awesome! The advantage to being a math major is that you are not studying something so specific that you can only apply for one type of position. The skills that you gain from math are tremendous and companies value an employee with the skill sets of math majors.
When should I start looking for an internship?
It is never too early to look for an internship. An internship will help you decide what you are interested in. Maybe you are more interested in the applied math or maybe you are more interested in the finance and operations end. Perhaps you will find that you really like (or dislike) programming and want to focus more on a job in sales, or vice versa.
How to I make myself marketable to companies and stand out from the crowd?
You need to maintain a high GPA. Companies want someone who has leadership experience, volunteer experience, experience in working with teams, and excellent communication skills. You don’t need to get a minor in business to be noticed by a company. If you are going to get a minor, choose something that you enjoy. If you are having trouble deciding on a minor, a language is an excellent way of standing out from the crowd. Remember to choose a minor (or supporting coursework) that you enjoy! One of the most important things is to be happy in your career choice and have a positive attitude at work and about your job and your company. An excellent attitude, passion for your job and enthusiasm goes a long way and will definitely get you noticed!
What types of CS courses should I take to get the basic programming skills that companies are looking for?
CS 125 || CS 173 || CS 225 || CS 411. This course sequence will teach you all of the programs basics that companies are using today. Scientific computing, C, Matlab, Unix/Linex, Java, Object Oriented Programming, C++, and SQL.