======= Date Modified 03 04 2010 16:04:42 =======
Hi, guys, I'm new to the forum, and frankly, new to the civilian job market (My only job experience is 3 year of enlistment in the US Army). I'm 26 and I graduate last semester with a M.S. in Mathmatics, prior to that, I completed a B.S. in Math and a B.A. in History. Luckily, I found a job immediately afterward and am now teaching math in a community college.

Now, my first semester of teaching is almost over, and I have been doing a lot of thinking about Ph.D. I love my job and I love teaching, but it hurts me every time I see a real professor teaching in a real 4 years university, doing research and publishing, making more money (my salary is only abut 42k, and it does't look like it will increase too much down the road. The average here is mid 50k), taking more time off, and gets more respects.
Bottomline, the biggest reason I took this job is because of financial burdens. I'm single with no kids, but I do have to support my father and my sister (13 yrs old) as he has a failing home mortgage. Things are picking up now and I should be in a better position to tackle the Ph.D. program in about 2 year's time.

As you can see from my background, my first major is History but I ended up pursuiting higher ed in math as I realize the impracticbility of a History degree. I want to become a professor but which field of study would be more practical to achieve this goal? Other than History and Math, I'm interested in fields in macro-economics, statistics, political sciences, even law (so a BAR fo that). What do you think? Am I better off just sticking with my current job?

Sorry about the lon post, but any comments, suggestions, and ideas are appreciated thank you very much!