I think your experience may be shaped by the area you've chosen to work in. I'm aware there are areas I'd be interested working in but are hard to enter without

I think your experience may be shaped by the area you've chosen to work in. I'm aware there are areas I'd be interested working in but are hard to enter without a PhD, it's not an insurmountable barrier but it can make things harder. It is not that particular areas need you to have a degree or a doctorate, it's just they are a good shorthand for required knowledge or proof of competence and without them you'll need to prove that in other ways.