据华尔街日报的报道[Sarah E. Needleman: Doing the Math to Find the Good Jobs Mathematicians Land Top Spot in New Ranking of Best and Worst Occupations in the U.S., Jan. 6, 2009]，在被评估的200种职业当中，数学家荣登榜首。原因是：

"According to the study, mathematicians fared best in part because they typically work in favorable conditions -- indoors and in places free of toxic fumes or noise -- unlike those toward the bottom of the list like sewage-plant operator, painter and bricklayer. They also aren't expected to do any heavy lifting, crawling or crouching -- attributes associated with occupations such as firefighter, auto mechanic and plumber."

最好的10个职业依次是：
1. Mathematician 2. Actuary 3. Statistician
4. Biologist 5. Software Engineer
6. Computer Systems Analyst 7. Historian
8. Sociologist 9. Industrial Designer 10. Accountant

事实上，上述除了Historian和Sociologist外，其他的职业似乎与数学都有很大的关系，甚至也有不少从事这些职业的人可以称得上是半个数学家。由此可见，学数学还是不错的。

虽然这个排名可能会引起公众重新对数学的重视，但是在很多人的眼中，数学只是一门少数人能从事的职业，数学的公共形象仍然依旧：大家都认为数学很有用，但很难，最好由专家来做。