Another voice here, saying the same thing. There are many, many math PhDs, from good programs, working in finance. The number of math PhDs produced every year far exceeds the number of positions available in academia, and a great many of those positions essentially consist of teaching pre-calculus and calculus to students with no interest in mathematics besides meeting requirements. Also, the pay at financial firms is a good deal better than the pay in academic or government positions, or, indeed, pretty much anywhere…