Is there any sort of job that I can get with a masters degree or PHd that will not consume my life? -

I m looking at professorships and its seems too ridiculous. I don t want my life to rotate around my job. That s just stupid. What I really want to do is be a writer and work to earn enough money to live. I don t want a job to become my life. Are there any realistic options?|::::|A lot of professors write on the side and publish lots of books. You don t always have to be a full time professor and sabbaticals are like opium for professors Most writers have some sort of day job,but I do understand what you re saying. All that time spent preparing for lectures, lecturing,then marking papers can be a never ending cycle. you could become a high school teacher (less stress or so I ve heard) or edit for magazines or become a full time researcher for a company there s lots of things out there, you just have to research. Good luck!|::::|Actually, professorships are among the most competed-for jobs. After spending 10+ years of your life getting your PhD, most people are pretty happy with the academic environment - working when you feel like it, getting half the week off if you re not teaching (usually to work on your own research), getting summers off, working with students. If you want to be a writer, you don t even need a bachelors degree, much less a PhD. While getting a degree might help you refine your technique, that s one of those jobs where if you have the talent you don t need a degree and even a degree won t make up for a lack in talent.|::::|You don t want an all-consuming job, but you re thinking of becoming a writer? Boy, are you in the wrong line of work. Successful writers never really take breaks: if they re not working on a current manuscript, then they re gathering information and inspiration for the next one. The value of an MFA is less about qualifications and more about having an environment in which you have the freedom to give yourself over to your craft and are surrounded by people with the same degree of focus. If you re unwilling to take the plunge and try to support yourself on your writing alone, then you need a job that won t distract you or will let you write what you want to as part of your work. Academia s the only alternative that allows the latter, and the former generally aren t jobs that you d need or want a degree for. (Get too comfortable, and you might never make the time or have the motivation to do anything creative.)|::::|Why do you need a masters of PHd to be a writer? Go for creative writing or journalism. If you just want to get a masters or PHD because you think you ll make more money down the road you re doing it for the wrong reasons. The bottom line is do something that you like. That way, even if your life is consumed by your job, you ll be doing something that you like, and it won t seem like work at all!