How To Become A Mathematics Professor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a mathematics professor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted experts

Coskun Cetin,

Scott Hyde

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a mathematics professor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $31.02 an hour? That's $64,521 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 159,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a mathematics professor?

Coskun Cetin

Professor, California State University

It is essential for graduating students to explore the job market and get some connections/experience before graduation. Unfortunately, internship and hands-on training opportunities have been impacted significantly due to the pandemic, but online training and certification opportunities are still there.

Getting in touch with a faculty member in a particular area of interest (with connections in industry and state/government agencies), working on a research project, and seeking advice on professional opportunities (e.g., online forums/workshops/conferences) would give an advantage in establishing contacts and experience.

Many of our math majors who had actively participated in summer research projects and presented their results in conferences (or published them in academic journals) were either hired by leading tech companies or accepted to top graduate programs in mathematics, statistics, computer science, or related areas.

ScoreMathematics ProfessorUS Average

Salary

5.0

Avg. Salary $64,521

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.31%

Black or African American 7.07%

Hispanic or Latino 10.08%

Unknown 4.92%

White 66.34%

Gender

female 29.40%

male 70.60%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

5.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.9

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a mathematics professor

Explore mathematics professor education requirements

Most common mathematics professor degrees

Bachelor's

52.4 %

Master's

32.1 %

Doctorate

8.6 %

Start to develop specific mathematics professor skills

Skills	Percentages
Math	13.82%
Student Learning	12.23%
Intermediate Algebra	11.32%
Syllabus	10.08%
Pre-Calculus	9.68%

Research mathematics professor duties and responsibilities

Manage a university mathematics laboratory.
Work in the preparation of federal proposals for teaching math through technology.
Develop lesson plans using PowerPoint presentations, library resources, and computers.
Compose a syllabus and lesson plan that coordinates with faculty members' schedules.

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