I haven't decided yet but I think I want to have career as a college mathematics professor. I'm currently a high school student who is a female. I am very interested in math and good at it. Any suggestions as to what college I could go to, if it's a bad idea for a female, should I be a high school teacher first, etc.? Any input would help, thank you.
2006-09-04 11:11:57 · 11 answers · asked by JCka 3 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
It's interesting that you have decided to be a college math teacher while still in high school. You must really like math. I'd suggest that you go to a college with a good undergraduate program. Harvard, Yale and Princeton are obvious choices, but a good tech school--Polytechnic University in NY, Georgia Tech, etc. might be good too. While there, study had and possibly join student math organizations. Most important, try to get into a top graduate program for math. There are a few schools that supply a good portion of the professors in a given subject. You could check the websites for the math departmernts of some universities. Often these sites will give the educational backgrounds of the faculty members. See where these people went to school and try to go there for your graduate studies.
You might want to check out Association for Women in Mathematics--http://www.awm-math.org/education.html.
There is lots of good information at this site.
As to becoming a high school math teacher, as a stepping stone to teaching college math, I don't think that this is a good idea generally. College teachers focus on research and scholarly activity. Most college teachers go directly from graduate school into college teaching. High school math teachers, in general, are not doing scholarly research. If the TEACHING part of being a professor is what you are interested in, you might want to teach at a community college where there is usually a stonger emphasis on teaching rather than on scholarly writing and research.
Good luck.
2006-09-04 11:46:39 · answer #1 · answered by Ace Librarian 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think it is completely alright for a woman 2 b a math professor. However, u should probably b a teacher at high school first. That way, a college would accept u faster because u would have experience.I'm not sure what college u should go 2 but maybe u could research all the colleges u r considering and see which one has the best teaching program. Every legitimate college now a days
has a website so u shouldnnt have too much of a problem finding info.
2006-09-04 11:24:07 · answer #2 · answered by I like skushies! 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My sister is a high school math and computer teacher. She has been doing this for about 10 yrs. She started out making $35K. But that quickly increased. Now she makes well over $80K a year and she loves her job and she is very good at it.
She told me that math teachers are in high demand and can make more than other kinds of teachers. Sometime a person will go to school to be an English teacher but end up teaching math because there are not enough math teachers out there.
I think you should go for it if this is something you enjoy. Being female should not be a factor to holding you back.
As far as schools go, it depends where you live. Find a school that is strong in their math department. Good luck to you.
2006-09-04 11:18:32 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Right now math teachers are in high demand. We have hired 5 math teachers in the last 2 years at my high school. Teaching is a great job. Yes...there are bad days, and I have often asked myself why did I choose this thankless profession. But I enjoy the students and it is very rewarding. (And having every weekend, holiday and summers off is also a plus!!) I don't know whether you are a senior or not, but you should talk to your guidance counselor and see what schools in your area have good education programs. There is probably money available for scholarships since this is a field that is demand. Good luck.
2006-09-04 11:38:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
first you need to go to college in order to become a teacher and it depends on what state you come from there are different guide lines to follow, high school is a tough population to teach, as well as college especially being a young female.. no matter what career you get into it is how you present yourself, and how educated you become.
2006-09-04 11:17:19 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can do a sort of survey, looking at what teachers do, their jobs, and getting a good feel of the career. if you feel that you understand the basic concepts of being a teacher and feel competent enough to assume the responsibilities, then you can take a course in education. don't worry, courses usually are very specific, so you can pick what you want. there are loads of female teachers (in fact, in my country, only 1 out of 10 teachers is male), so you'll be okay.
i have to warn you that being a teacher is not easy. you need to have good people skills. you need to memorize every single name in your class. you have to understand people who are younger than you. although it seems that you're good in math, you have to be good with people first to seriously consider teaching. i suggest you try tutoring children first to get a feel of teaching, before you step to college.
2006-09-04 11:20:03 · answer #6 · answered by lemons 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
not sure about what high school, but go for the teaching thing
2006-09-04 11:13:27 · answer #7 · answered by rkgiraffe 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm sorry, it is a bad idea for a female. Hope this helps!
2006-09-04 11:17:07 · answer #8 · answered by rrbowker2002 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
if you like to be under paid, work late, stress and to deal with people go for it.
2006-09-04 11:15:13 · answer #9 · answered by Engonos 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
go for your goals. talk to a counselor on what steps you need to do to obtain them.
2006-09-04 11:15:04 · answer #10 · answered by wondering_lefty 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋