Can I payoff student-loan debts working as a professor after getting a Ph.D. in mathematics? I have been recently accepted into graduate school for my PhD in Mathematics. I feel very prepared and excited. However, my route is somewhat untraditional as I am "going back." That is, I am walking away from a well paying job. (I should mention that I am unmarried with no children.) I still have a lot of debt from undergrad. And, I am about to accumulate more (although an assistantship will help defray some costs). Obtaining my PhD and teaching at a college is my dream. As such, I am taking the plunge-no matter the cost.   Working with the assumption that I will be about $100,000 in debt when I graduate, is it feasible to "live" even if I secure a tenure-track position? For instance, can one "request" to teach intersession and summer sessions for extra income (as a professor)?
Since nobody else has offered a direct answer to the title question...


  Should I take on debt in order to get a Ph.D. in mathematics?


Absolutely not.

If a PhD program isn't willing to waive your tuition and offer you a stipend (in the form of an assistantship or fellowship), they don't really want you.  Go somewhere else.  If they decide not to give you more funding after a semester or two, you're done.  Go somewhere else.