I very much disagree with the general tenor of the comments. True, a Ph.D won't directly translate into more money, or more exciting job prospects. Also true,

I very much disagree with the general tenor of the comments. True, a Ph.D won't directly translate into more money, or more exciting job prospects. Also true, a Ph.D isn't a golden key to life. A Ph.D in a solid field gives you a new set of tools for solving problems, and it gives you the luxury of digging very deeply into a subject you find rich/stimulating/opportune. I walked out with: - deep knowledge of cutting edge techniques in my field - a network of world-class experts to whom I could turn when faced with interesting business/engineering problems - years of practice in solving hard problems > I much prefer creating things. A good Ph.D serves your ability to create. > I'll be stuck doing things that bore me after a number of years, with no room to grow to more interesting things. You don't have to stay in academia for your Ph.D to be valuable. >I also think I'm just not that bright and that a PhD would be a huge intellectual challenge for me. None of us are "that bright". That's the whole point of the Ph.D.