MFA Creative Writing job options
July 9, 2016 6:54 PM   Subscribe

I have a BA and MFA in English-Creative Writing. Currently, I teach English at a community college. While most of my job experience is in education, I no longer want to work in this field. What are some jobs to which I'd be able to successfully apply/career change? Thanks.
posted by Ready2016 to Work & Money (12 answers total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
Did you work on your schools' literary magazines? If so, look into editing.
posted by brujita at 6:57 PM on July 9, 2016


I have an MFA in creative writing. For a while, I worked in university development as a donor relations writer -- mainly thank-you letters, but there were other projects. Lots of MFAs from my school passed through that office. Eventually I decided that development wasn't for me and went to law school; my writing skills have been indispensable to me as a lawyer.

My partner also has an MFA in creative writing and taught English at community colleges. She changed to university development in a research role with an eye toward front-line fundraising in the future. It took some persistence and networking, but she's been very happy and successful.

A number of other MFAs I know switched from teaching to arts administration at various nonprofits.
posted by Handstand Devil at 7:36 PM on July 9, 2016


There are a lot of federal government jobs where having a master's degree, any master's degree, will give you a leg up in getting the job.

Writing skill is not well tested for in recruitment and once you get a job, being able to write well will be a huge leg up over your coworkers in promotion.
posted by Jahaza at 8:06 PM on July 9, 2016


The process for most federal jobs is to apply for jobs via USAJOBS.
posted by Jahaza at 8:07 PM on July 9, 2016


My better half changed careers into technical writing- editing and loves it - he says his MFA experience was helpful in getting into a tech writing career.
posted by NikitaNikita at 9:10 PM on July 9, 2016


I have a BA in Creative Writing, but not an MFA. I've been a technical writer for about 12 years now. I work in the software industry, but tech writers also work in industries such as aerospace, manufacturing, telecomm, etc. It's a pretty common career option for people who have a creative writing or journalism background.
posted by neushoorn at 1:46 AM on July 10, 2016


Response by poster: Thanks a lot for all the replies!! I appreciate it. Thanks for the Feds job links and the research/development roles into which experience in education can be parlayed. I'll definitely look into these suggestions.

Re: technical writing, I have no experience in software like InDesign etc. Isn't knowledge of those platforms necessary for that field?
posted by Ready2016 at 2:02 AM on July 10, 2016


Re: technical writing, I have no experience in software like InDesign etc. Isn't knowledge of those platforms necessary for that field?

1) Not universally; 2) You can learn it
posted by mskyle at 6:40 AM on July 10, 2016


What are your other interests? Strong writing and classroom management skills are applicable in any number of jobs, but what kind of stuff do you want to do?

I and many of my MFA cohort have found nonprofit work to be a good fit. I'm currently a program coordinator (plus a little bit of everything else) for a small, writing-related organization; I was previously in development at an animal shelter. While I personally don't love going to an office (I wanted to keep teaching, but alas, sustainable teaching gigs are not as available as they were when I graduated five years ago), I do get to do work that I feel good about and put my skills to use.

Go into fundraising/development if you're interested in persuading people and organizations to hand over their money. Communications if you'd like to convey a strong message/mission to the general public. Administration if you're organized and bossy. Of course, I'm generalizing, and in many organizations the lines between these positions aren't always clear. At larger NPOs, your job is likely to be more compartmentalized (a friend of mine spent two years writing thank you letters to foundations that made grants over a certain amount of money and ONLY writing those thank you letters. I would lose my mind). With smaller organizations, you'll likely get experience doing a little bit of everything; that's what I'm doing now, and it suits my gets-bored-easily-and-wants-to-be-the-boss-of-myself-and-everything-else personality. The pay is shit, but not as shit as adjuncting, and the hours are more predictable, which makes it easier for me to get real writing done on my own time. YMMV.
posted by adastra at 12:01 AM on July 11, 2016


My husband has taken his English PhD to the non-profit Fundraising path, and in his field, he is worth his weight in GOLD.

You think teaching was gratifying? Try securing tens of thousands of dollars for a women's shelter, or after-school care for low-income families...

Personally I can't handle the pressure of that kind of writing, but he seems to thrive on it!
posted by Dressed to Kill at 6:41 AM on July 11, 2016


Response by poster: @ adastra Thanks for asking. I have an INFP personality and so monotony and work that has no intrinsic value is an impossibility. I'd indeed find it hard to only write thank you letters all day.
I am self-directed, like to work independently and need some measure of creativity. I'm a very conceptual person with strong convictions. Your generalizations are great and do help to put matters into perspective. Thank you.
I'd just like to find a path I would feasibly, based on my qualifications, be suited to and for which I'd be hired; one that offers good pay, security and dynamism.
:-) that's all.
posted by Ready2016 at 10:09 AM on July 11, 2016


Response by poster: @ Dressed to kill. Wow, that is indeed gratifying!! Making a real difference in people's lives. Thanks for posting.
posted by Ready2016 at 10:10 AM on July 11, 2016 [1 favorite]


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