Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Get your MFA. it's a great two years to figure it out. You will meet other people you and you won't want to do it when you're older. It's a better environment for younger people anyway. Most people on mine were 21-28.
OP here. Thank you for responding! I'm happy to hear from someone who has first-hand experience with an MFA. Did you feel like it was an extension of college/delaying adulthood until after grad school? Did you find that getting an MFA helped with job opportunities? Or not really?
PP here. I guess it was an extension in a way. I felt like I really grew up during those two years. I learned more about office politics than at any job and it served me well later. I did not end up in academia but adjuncted a few times because of having publications later. I got a government job. It's next to impossible to get a faculty job. I didn't want to be a "freeway flyer" with a bunch of adjunct jobs which nowadays is probably a best case scenario. The only way to teach college is to have significant publications and you can really only do that by being in a top MFA program to help you get published. (Of course there are exceptions but it's a waste of time to try to talk about all that.) MFAs are for connections with faculty, visiting agents and the friends you make who you network with throughout your lives. You supplement that with fellowships to Sewanee, Brradloaf, etc., for more connections. It's about relationships as much as talent and you must have enormous drive and some chutzpah. Even then, it's a tough road. But I'm glad I got my MFA because it was also a very fun and very creative time. You're young and it's fun to write and talk to others and go to parties. But I wouldn't look at it as a way into teaching creative writing as a career. After the MFA, you can get a nursing degree or counseling or something else. Be practical as well as idealistic. You sound like you actually are practical because you're being cautious. Practicality gets easier as you get older. But if you get into a great program and get money, why not?