I strictly disagree with you here. Most of the content in a master's program can be found online (or otherwise in the relevant textbooks) -- if you're paying t

I strictly disagree with you here. Most of the content in a master's program can be found online (or otherwise in the relevant textbooks) -- if you're paying to do it as a class, you're paying for structure and the piece of paper, and that's about it. PhDs are start-level research jobs. You'll probably learn things (equivalent to a master's) during your first year or two, but you'll become an expert in your field via a PhD because of the fact that no one else is working on the topic to the same degree of depth that you will be. (In fact, the fact that this comment conflates PhD with masters makes me suggest that the poster doesn't actually interact enough with folk that have either to have internalized the distinction.)