I'm not sure whether you mean mainland Europe but in the UK, it is not necessary to have a masters degree to do a PhD. It is probably advisable but not a prereq

I'm not sure whether you mean mainland Europe but in the UK, it is not necessary to have a masters degree to do a PhD. It is probably advisable but not a prerequisite. Like you however, after I did my masters and spent 6 months on my own research project, I realised that a PhD would not be for me and went into industry.