I had a similar discussion with a young colleague considering grad school recently. My two cents is now, with nearly 25 years post Ph.D. under my belt, that it

I had a similar discussion with a young colleague considering grad school recently. My two cents is now, with nearly 25 years post Ph.D. under my belt, that it is a union card for some jobs, and irrelevant for others. The degrees don't make the person. The content of the character and drive do. I got a Ph.D. as I had the goal of being a physics prof someday. I knew that was an essential milestone on the path to this. Now, my goal is to save for retirement, and do what I enjoy doing while doing this, and maybe after retirement teaching physics/math/etc. at a local uni/college. The treadmill of credentialism is an apt phrase though. I don't need a Ph.D. in my current job. Or most of my previous ones.