If so, please tell us about how you intend to make that happen.

Do you have a plan?
Do you learn by yourself or do you rely on your courses?

At which stage can one call oneself a mathematician?

During my degree course a few years ago I called myself a mathematician and a colleague told me "Not yet, you're not" in other words, not until I had gained a qualification.

I thought about it and realised that I can't call myself a mathematician till I had proved something original.

But then I discovered this:

Westwood's Puzzle - ProofWiki

which I'd never seen anywhere else, so I published it. I think I'm the first.

So I'm a mathematician.

How to become one:
Well I did my degree, and now I collect maths books and study them, and I'm now trying to boil them all down into one place. All the maths I study now is on my own with books and the occasional question here.

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"No matter how fast or how far you run, you're still in the space where you are." -- Russell

I enjoyed your proof Matt, well done.

I consider myself a mathematician as I have finished my degree and are now using these skills to make a difference. I am currently working as an analyst modelling the demand for water of a city that has over 4 million inhabitants.

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Life is complex: it has both real and imaginary components.

I don't know.

I'm not the type of person who walks away from something easily, but I do have other concerns right now. I need a stable job, I need to get married in a few years, I'm going to have kids, etc. I'm going to need to make a lot of bank to take care of a family of six (2 parents, 4 kids).

I'm young right now and all I'm taking this semester are math courses (long story short, my college screwed me over and I'm stuck with what I'm stuck with). My minor is in mathematics. Anything and everything I usually do that's on the computer relates to mathematics and I'm always searching for math texts I can order to learn from. I deeply enjoy mathematics, but I've barely scratched the surface. There's a lot of devotion and passion to do something with it that I have stored in me, but I'm not going to "quit my day job". I'm still going to become a Pharmacist. I'm still going to get a bachelors or master's degree in mathematics. I still might go for the PhD in Mathematics. But who knows what I'll do with that knowledge?

As far as learning goes, I teach myself and learn from my courses. I don't think I'd ever call myself a mathematician until I did something original.

Really nice topic!! I am a mathematician, I am doctor and I work in functional analysis, I have my permanent position in a small University. But when I have reached my old aim (which a lot of people in this forum have nowadays) I have noticed that I will never be a great mathematician as I dreamed years ago, everyone has limits and now I know much better my limits than I was an student.

I teach in Engenieeing and Business Administration, thus my students have mathematics as a subject to learn and they are not really ineterested in learning mathematics. My teaching is really far from my research. I like to participate in this forum from time to time because people here loves mathematics as I do. And I like to observe students posting here that in not too many years will become much better methematicians than myself! Reading this forum it results curious to myself to notice that I have forgotten a lot of concepts about algebra, geometry, almost all the mathematical disciplines but Analysis and Topology! Anyway, I strongly encourage all the participants to continue reading, learning, and, of course, always thinking!! Enjoy Mathematics!!

I am not a mathematician, not at all. I use mathematics for engineering technology and for fun.