Can a computer program determine the value of an MFA? Can a Computer Program Discern the Value of an MFA?
Using syntax as a measure of style, the researchers found only that “MFA novels tend to use pairs of adjectives or adverbs less often, or avoid the more straightforward structure of a noun followed by a verb in the present tense.” (Learning to avoid adverbs: worth $100,000 in student loans?) lol
The value of any degree is what sort of return you, as an individual, can do with it. We see lots of people here who want an MFA so they can become adjuncts somewhere. That's the economic equivalent of saying I want to earn a degree in accounting so I can work part of the year at H&R Block. You don't need an MFA to write a novel. You don't need an MFA to write poetry. You don't need an MFA to improve your language skills. All of these things can be done in a library for free. The most successful "use" of an MFA I have ever seen was a woman who had both an MFA (Creative Writing) and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering. That combo utterly destroyed her competition in her quest to be hired as a technical writer. She wasn't the first MFA to apply for that sort of job but she was the first to get an interview. The MFA didn't get her the job. It was the combination of the MFA and an undergrad degree in engineering (a degree which she never actually used to work as an engineer, by the way). She's probably making 6 times as much as the MFA grad who aspired only to be an adjunct somewhere. So was it valuable? Probably to her it was. Degrees are pieces of an overall puzzle. You put those pieces together to make a picture. The person with the most compelling picture gets the job. You can use the most expensive puzzle pieces, if you want. Or you can do something cheap and creative. The end result is what matters.
