Lots of interesting comments here. My biggest bit of advice to someone asking if he or she should get a PhD is to phrase it differently. If that person got in

Lots of interesting comments here. My biggest bit of advice to someone asking if he or she should get a PhD is to phrase it differently. If that person got into an elite Medical, Law, or Business School, they should ask "should I get an MD, JD, or MBA". The reason it's ok to phrase it this way is that attrition rates are typically below one half of one percent in those degree programs at the elite (top 10) level. Science PhD programs, even elite ones, often have attrition rates at 50%. Engineering is a bit better, at around 35% attrition rates, though this varies by program. So you should be saying "should I take a 50% shot at getting a PhD" - or, if not, take a very objective look at why the 50% doesn't apply to you. I know, if you got into the PhD program at Berkeley, you justifiably think you're really good at this sort of thing, but really, everyone's good. The 50% who drop or fail out aren't slackers or unintelligent. They're often exceptionally smart and motivated people. These degrees are very different from professional degrees at the elite level. They are extraordinarily difficult to complete. On a personal note, I was a PhD student in Industrial Engineering at Berkeley, and I felt there was far too much failure and attrition for such a bright and accomplished group of people. Nobody I knew ended up in an insane asylum (as mentioned in other posts), but it was an emotionally rough experience for many of them, and I could see it getting there. I felt the system did border on being cruel at times.