This is probably one of the most frequent questions I get when people find out that I got my B.A. in Creative Writing from Arizona State University. And the answer is the same as it is for most questions about writing: it depends. For me, it was absolutely worth it, and I think it would be worth it for most people, with a few caveats.
First, let’s talk money. Ignoring the bat-shit crazy cost of tuition in my country, there is still the potential for survivable lifelong income from your chosen career to worry about. The trope of the starving artist exists for a reason. Very few people will be able to make a livable income from writing novels, short stories, or poetry at any point in their lives – much less at the beginning of their career. Is it impossible? No. But I am here to kill your dreams because the reality is it is nearly impossible for most people, including you.
Now that we’ve gotten the soul-crushing acknowledgement of reality out of the way, let’s talk about why all the people who tell you that ‘getting your degree in Creative Writing means you’ll never make any money’ are wrong. Because they are wrong, just so you know. Really very terribly wrong. I hate it when people spout off things like that as if they are an authority on the matter when they clearly haven’t bothered to do their research. It’s just that you’re probably going to have to do something to make money other than cloister yourself in a stark basement apartment while working diligently on your masterpiece. There are many jobs available for those with a degree in creative writing such as freelancing, teaching, or human resources. You see, what many people fail to realize is that creative writing is an English degree and English degrees are on par statistically with computer, science, and math fields and better than the social science fields when it comes to employment rate. The downside is that English majors average 15% lower income, but the salaries are still very livable.
I had unique circumstances have allowed me to focus solely on my writing for as long as I choose to do so. I am retired from the military so my tuition was paid for and I have a steady income already in place. I’m also in a two-income household and my son is already grown. The choice about whether to get my degree in creative writing was based off of a different debate: pride.
Here is one of those moments that I warned you about, in my first post, where I’ll bare my soul. I’m legitimately nervous as I sit here, my hands trembling on the keyboard, preparing to expose my insecurities. (That’s the nice thing about writing fiction, you get to hide behind your characters.) Here we go – I have always been told that I’m smart. Brilliant. Going to do ‘great things’ someday. And while I’m pretty sure some of that is just the usual optimism we try to pump into kids as they grow up, I do know that I am academically skilled. I got my first degree in mathematics and went on to study physics. I made it to my senior year before I had to drop out because I couldn’t afford the tuition anymore. After my time in the military, where I advanced quickly due to my test scores, I began studying electrical engineering and made it to my senior year again before I had a crisis that forced me to re-evaluate my life plans. When you tell people things like that, the canned response is usually something along the lines of, “Math/Physics/Engineering? Wow, you must be smart!”
In case it isn’t obvious yet, my intellect had become a major part of my identity. And, let’s face it, the liberal arts degrees don’t get the same sort of reaction as STEM degrees do. I was afraid that my friends and family would think I gave up or took the easy way out or just completely lost my mind. My fear was justified, I took a lot of shit (and still do) from people close to me who don’t see creative writing as a ‘real degree.’ I’m the only one at the table during family gatherings that doesn’t talk about their career. No one in my family asks how my work is going or where my new piece is being published. The closest they come is the occasional question about whether I plan to get a job while I write because they see what I do as a hobby and not my career, whether or not I am paid for my writing. And the reality is that your friends and family may not support you either. People will probably judge you at some point or another. The good news is that the liberal arts community, in my experience, is one of the most supportive academic communities that I’ve ever had the pleasure to be part of (and I’ve been part of several). I am still in contact with many of my peers; we critique each other’s work and cheer each other on when a piece gets picked up for publication. The friends I made in that program have gone a long way to helping me feel proud of myself again.
Okay, so, we’ve talked financial and emotional security which both fall into the pro and con sections. Now let’s talk about something that falls squarely into the pro category: what you learn from a creative writing degree. The two extra years it took me to finish that program advanced my writing to a point I’m sure I never would have achieved on my own. In this blog, I plan on trying to pass some of the knowledge that I gleaned onto you but there is no substitution for the experience of organized workshops led by published professors. Writing is an interesting career field as it is one of the last bastions of professions you can enter without any real training or education in the field. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get that training, though, if it is available for you. A formal education in writing will make you a better writer, it’s just that simple.
It is clear that I believe creative writing is a viable major, at least from an economic standpoint. It isn’t the easy path to take, though. You will make less money than other fields, you will likely have to do work that you aren’t passionate about to supplement your income, there are people who won’t take you seriously. But if you love writing, if this is truly your passion, if you know that you have the strength to deal with all those obstacles in exchange for the chance to be who you were meant to be – then the answer is yes, it is worth it to get a degree in creative writing.
