Was your MFA worth it?

Hi all! So I’ve been planning on pursuing my MFA in creative writing for a while now and I’m about to start doing my round of applications to programs and I was looking for some advice.

I have spent the last few years working as an educator and I just don’t feel like I can actually find any type of balance between work and my craft. I’m hoping a program will be able to give me more structure and a direct way to help develop my skills; but I also know that I fall into the category of a “genre fiction” writer and that’s not always something that’s looked upon favorably in the more “literary circles”.

If you got your MFA was the experience worth it? Did it allow you to develop your craft in the way that you hoped it would? How was your work received if you do tend to write genre fiction? Do you think it helped move your career forward as a writer?