Conversations with graduates : reflections on learning mathematics

This study examines the transition to professional work of 18 recent graduates after gaining a degree in the mathematical sciences. This paper reports on their reflections of learning at university and what they gained from their degrees by analysing their stories gathered using in-depth interviews. The graduates’ work situations taxed their resilience, many changed careers and others were frustrated with their circumstances. Most believed that university changed them and their work expectations, as David states: It made me appreciate the bigger picture. It sort of opened up avenues of my career that I never would have ever imagined could have existed. Knowledge of graduates’ transition experiences, and how mathematical work is engaged with in the workplace, can inform curriculum review and development.