Can I Escape Poverty with a PhD in Mathematics?

[JasonJo]

Hey guys, I am wondering if any of you are unfortunately in my situation and are poor.

My parents barely scrape by and my brother is currently going to grad school for his MBA, so he won't be able to help out for another 3.5 years. my parents are about 58 years old. It saddens me that they have to live in poverty.

I plan on going to grad school for my Ph. D in Mathematics. I'm just wondering, how soon will it be before I actually can start making a living and not eating out of cans to survive?

Not that it will deter me, I'll eat out of the garbage if that's what it takes. I am just curious. I would like to be able to help out a little bit.

 

[dicerandom]

Have you applied for financial aid (FAFSA, scholarships, etc.)? You can get quite a bit of "free money" from federal and state grants if you qualify. I was awarded something to the tune of $8,000 no strings attached money for this year, plus another $4,000 in subsidised loans (the fed pays my interest payments as long as I'm in school). There are also work study programs where you can get paid to do research, even as an undergrad, and of course there are always unsubsidised student loans.

As a grad student most places will pay you for TAing or assisting with research, I believe the amount varies from institution to institution.

 

[Pengwuino]

Yah I've always been told that unless you're going to a poor university or one of the top universities in the country (odd eh? hehe), you'll have positions open for Teaching assistanceships and research assistanceships that'll pretty much give you enough money to live off of.