The following is taken from an e-mail I received from a colleague who having heard of my job hunting, told me to check out the National Security Agency. As further proof of his proposition that the NSA was a good place for math majors, he pasted into the e-mail a conversation he had with someone who currently works there.

Benjamin: Can you sum up why NSA is a BA (badass) employment opportunity. I suggested it to a math friend int eh [sic] library and he wants to know more. I just need a paragraph, prestige, benefits, security, and badassery are all fine points. But I’m unfamiliar with the math section.

Jessica: yeah all of those things, and you get to do cool kinds of math, stuff that really affects things, applicable, new research

Benjamin: I’m gonna need a bit more pizaz. Don’t worry, he’s not your competition.

Jessica: nothing is gonna look better on a resume for a math person man i dont know, how is that not enough?

Benjamin: Not quite sure. I’ll tell him it’s a bastion of beautiful, respressed math girls. He’s a confident and attractive young man, perhaps it’ll be a good fit for him.

Jessica: hahaha, nice.