I hope to teach math at university someday. While I know that some jobs like Professor require a PhD, are there any teaching jobs that require only a master's degree?

I am not sure if it would be the same for math, but I have been taught by a couple people with only a Master's degree, so it's definitely possible.

I think traditionally a PhD teaches university and if you want to teach with a masters usually you go to college, but im pretty sure Holmes and O'Shanaugssy (Econ 1b03/1bb3) are both MA's

Maybe not teach, except for the summer, but a lot of RAs have Masters. Allison Cowie (IA/Co-ordinater/whatever for some Bio courses) has a MSc.

McLean is a lecturer in the Math department and only has his Masters.

Originally Posted by herBs

McLean is a lecturer in the Math department and only has his Masters.

Does that mean that lecturers require only a master's?

Originally Posted by Alexmahone

Does that mean that lecturers require only a master's?

If you want to teach at a university I really don't think you should just get your masters and stop. The examples people are naming are few and far between. For every one person in a department that lectures with a Masters, there are probably 9 or more who have a Ph.D instead.

Besides: Universities (most of them) would expect you to do some research simultaneously, which you'll presumably be better equiped for after the completion of a PhD.

Originally Posted by Alexmahone

I hope to teach math at university someday. While I know that some jobs like Professor require a PhD, are there any teaching jobs that require only a master's degree?

The trend (for teaching jobs in math) is actually towards hiring lecturers with a master's; since the number of students entering has spiked and most of the increase consists of students in some sort of vocational training (rather than students who would want to go into whatever subject to research), universities don't need to hire researchers inasmuch as teachers.

Here's what I mean. The vast majority of students in math courses are in engineering; you don't need a prof with a PhD to go through a bunch of examples and computations. Additionally, there are large groups in lifesci, and the same goes here, as they don't take anything beyond first-year. On the other hand, math and physics programs are pretty small, and students in those programs are typically the only ones who would take a math course that would actually benefit from having a prof teach it, rather than a lecturer.

Originally Posted by Alexmahone

Does that mean that lecturers require only a master's?

Yeah. That said, it's probably still very competitive. Also keep in mind that a lecturer typically does not get the same job security and salary as a prof. However, if your goal is teaching, then going for a PhD may be a big ask; math research is typically very difficult, and sometimes demoralizing.

In science, people can do research by running experiments that haven't been run before, or crunching data that hasn't been crunched before. In math, this is typically not the case; if the problem you're working on is still open research, then chances are that many people have failed to crack the problem you're working on. If you just want to teach, motivating yourself to stay in a PhD program may be very difficult.

My accounting prof was a masters only. The deal for her was she could only teach 4 years so she kept switching schools till a more permanent one.

Originally Posted by Mahratta

Yeah. That said, it's probably still very competitive. Also keep in mind that a lecturer typically does not get the same job security and salary as a prof. However, if your goal is teaching, then going for a PhD may be a big ask; math research is typically very difficult, and sometimes demoralizing.

In science, people can do research by running experiments that haven't been run before, or crunching data that hasn't been crunched before. In math, this is typically not the case; if the problem you're working on is still open research, then chances are that many people have failed to crack the problem you're working on. If you just want to teach, motivating yourself to stay in a PhD program may be very difficult.

Actually my goal is not just teaching, but research as well. But I thought it might be a good idea to take a break between the undergraduate and graduate degrees, during which I could gain some teaching experience.

Originally Posted by Alexmahone

Actually my goal is not just teaching, but research as well. But I thought it might be a good idea to take a break between the undergraduate and graduate degrees, during which I could gain some teaching experience.

I see. It's probably possible to do so, but there are many very smart people with master's degrees in math and not quite as many teaching spots.

I think the market for math teachers at the high school level is fairly good (compared to teaching most other subjects), but you would need teacher's college first, so it's not something you could do between degrees.

Also, if you want to do research, I highly recommend applying for undergrad research assistantships (typically in the summer after your second year). You'll get a taste of what math is actually like, and will be able to make a more informed choice as to whether you'd prefer the teaching route or the research route.

Originally Posted by Mahratta

I see. It's probably possible to do so, but there are many very smart people with master's degrees in math and not quite as many teaching spots.

I think the market for math teachers at the high school level is fairly good (compared to teaching most other subjects), but you would need teacher's college first, so it's not something you could do between degrees.

Also, if you want to do research, I highly recommend applying for undergrad research assistantships (typically in the summer after your second year). You'll get a taste of what math is actually like, and will be able to make a more informed choice as to whether you'd prefer the teaching route or the research route.

Thanks a lot for your answers. In that case, could you suggest a job I can get with a BSc (Hons) in math and stat? What do you plan to do after graduating, btw?

Someone told me the the Math 1LS3 prof (Clements) came straight outta her undergrad. That would be kind of funny.

Originally Posted by Silver

Someone told me the the Math 1LS3 prof (Clements) came straight outta her undergrad. That would be kind of funny.

Nope, she has a MSc.

Yea. Thought so.