I hear where you are coming from. Forty years ago when I graduated in Math from Cornell University, I had many of your same concerns. My only answer is that if you want to get a truly 'useful' education, the best bet is to focus on something like Air Condition repair and/or plumbing. I subsequently became a programmer for IBM and got a Masters degree in Computer Science from NC State (courtesy of IBM). I then went on to start my own software company specializing in paint and image processing, which I sold to Macromedia back in 1995. The only math I ever used professionally was linear algebra, as it relates to computer graphics. My point is that your Math education is really nothing more than a mental form of calisthenics that is hopefully preparing you for the next stage in your life. Based on the success of your blog, I believe that the dividends are already starting to pay off. Keep in mind that no one is going to shower you with money upon graduation, nor commit to making your life meaningful, that is something that you are going to have to do on your own. As for the suggestion that you should go into operations research, my advice would be to avoid it. My brother got a PhD in OR from Stanford back in 1985, and to quote him there were only five people in the world capable of understanding his thesis, and only two interested enough to read it. He subsequently became a quant trader at Solomon Brothers on Wall Street. My only guarantee is that in twenty years time, you will not regret your math education.