Hi, is that time of the year again, I'm about to graduate (again), this time with a M.S. in pure math.

Well, I am currently teaching in a community college as adjunct, I really enjoy the job but as most of you out there knows, adjunct pay and benefit (or the lack of it) sucks. So I'm now considering whether I should continue my education or not.

Of course, I'm more than willing to teaching K-12, but I do want to give PhD a shot since I do enjoy teaching college math more. My question is, how much advantage will I truly gain in this job market (I'm willing to move to just about anywhere) with a Math PhD? Do we have a high demand in mathematicians, in particular, for math professors?

I have been researching everywhere and asking people in my department, in an attempt to obtain as much information as I can as committing to a PhD program is taking a big risk in terms of both time and money.

Any thoughts and advices will be helpful to me, thank you very much!

It is a very personal decision, of course, but if you enjoy Maths, I advise you simply to continue with your PHD and try to become reality your wishes. Nobody knows what can happen in some years. From my experience, I was nearly giving up ten years ago, and now I have my position. I enjoy my job, consisiting basically in thinking and teaching Mathematics every single day. I wouldn't think you are wasting your time. In Europe, a lot of private companys are interested in mathematicians because they are considered able to learn rapidly anything. But I insist, it is your decision, and it is simply not possible to read the future and tell you which is the better decision.

Of course, you must investigate in which fields in Mathematics there are more positions in your country, or if there are countries demanding Mathematics doctors in specific areas. When one finish his graduate studies (the equivalent to licenciatura in Spain I suppose) it is usual to feel atraction by the specialities of the better experts in your University, and some times it is not a good idea. I believe that now I would do something in Complex Analysis rather than Functional Analysis as I did, because of the quality of the journals you have acces to publish in both areas

anyway, good luck!

By my understand, getting a job in a Uni is not so much about demand but about how good your PhD is. Yes, the jobs have to be there, but if your PhD is good enough you won't really have to look.

You mention a big risk in terms of time and money - can you not get a scholarship/sponsorship? Certainly in Britain most PhD students are funded through their studies (I have only heard tale of any who have not).

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Have you given a thought to teaching?