A friend of mine in my program kept asking me why I was doing a PhD. He called it an entrance card to the academic world, allowing you to apply for certain type

A friend of mine in my program kept asking me why I was doing a PhD. He called it an entrance card to the academic world, allowing you to apply for certain types of jobs. He kept wondering why I was subjecting myself to so much work, and difficult relations with my advisor, when I had a great career going beforehand. So yes, if you're not interested in doing academic research, then a PhD is a pretty hard sell.