graduating with a bachelors in secondary math in ~ 16 months

plan on teaching high school but was looking to see what other careers i can pursue with this degree? i know it is important to have more than one career in life these days.

i thought about getting a masters degree in math to teach at a college but what else could i do besides teach?

i would love to be a mathematician that ends up in a textbook one day because i discovered some new formula/algorithm

Is there a career that combines math with theory? I haven't started college so I don't know.

I was in the same position. I originally majored in mathematics planning to be a high school teacher, but later found that I just didn't have the patience to do it.
Luckily, mathematics is a degree that can be used to get a plethora of jobs (not even ones you think would be math related). It's hard to list what jobs are available just because there are so many options.
Most companies LOVE hiring people with math degrees simply because they highly value critical thinking. I ended up at a petroleum consultation company and I love it here.

Basically, it all comes down to what you enjoy doing. Fortunately, you have the degree and the options to explore various opportunities and choose for yourself.
So long story short, there are MANY options! So don't fret if teaching doesn't work out, there is plenty of things you can do.

I know it's vague, but I hope this helps!

good to know that when I learn all this math in the upcoming year I have many options to put it to use

i keep considering becoming an actuary, but i haven't studied enough for the exams yet. you can also do risk analysis, data mining, data analysis, and other unrelated stuff.

good to hear that that applies in the usa as well
didn't want to response first because i am not really sure about the situation in the usa
while there are few specific fields for mathematicians outside teaching and research
(not to forget the boring but lucrative actuary - hi 'carteblanche')
the skills learned by studying mathematics are applicable in many fields

i shall take note of this actuary profession and gain some knowledge about it.

@brmv i guess that was what my prof meant when she stated that math just builds the foundation for any other work out there

math provides the foundation/vehicle for (all natural and some other) sciences but
basic (and sometimes more advanced) math is required in many fields, eg architecture and engineering
the real benefit of studying math is not in gaining knowledge of the various formulae, theorems and such
but rather understanding the principles, abstract thinking and problem solving skills

best bet in todays world would be to combine it with computer science.