You can disagree with something, but still do it because your environment expects you to do it. He might not have been able to succeed in his goals if he hadn’t

You can disagree with something, but still do it because your environment expects you to do it. He might not have been able to succeed in his goals if he hadn’t gotten a phd, not because of the phd itself, but how companies and people perceive those with phds. It opens doors, that would otherwise remain shut. Similar to how no US president would ever say they don’t believe in god, as that would immediately alienate a large part of the voters. Usually, if you want to win inside a system, it means you have to play by the rules of the system.