I started with the same attitude - i was relatively tech savvy and felt ahead of the curve coming out of my bachelors. Even when i was working in industry it se

I started with the same attitude - i was relatively tech savvy and felt ahead of the curve coming out of my bachelors. Even when i was working in industry it seemed like a PhD was too much time to invest in details when i thought i already grasped the big picture. I was so so wrong. Now at the tail end of my PhD, remembering my earlier years is like looking back at a bad hair-style - how could i have been so stupid. If you view a PhD as writing papers, low pay/lobbying for funding, a few classes, and a big project then you are missing what's between the lines. The biggest thing i've gotten out of my PhD is learning how dumb i was and how dumb i am now. A PhD is definitely not for everyone, and maybe a M.S.C. is enough. Though just as an anecdote, i'm currently at a top university (think MIT, CMU, Stanford, etc...you may be able to figure out where in my previous comments, i can't remember if i've listed it) and in every single machine learning, computer science, and engineering class i've taken the projects/papers/presentations from the masters students is largely very poor quality. I'm definitely not saying they're bad students, or whatever, most are probably overworked from taking too many classes each semester, but it was very surprising for me to see such a low level of polish (and sometimes effort) being put into their work. And if their work is any indication of what they're taking away from their M.S., then the M.S. is definitely not enough.