I don't think there's any reason to be discouraged. There's a lot of bias against PhDs for various reasons (good and bad).
I have a PhD, got an academic position and then worked in various companies (startups, big tech company). These paths aren't exclusive.
I'm glad I did the PhD.
- it gave me time to work on a variety of interesting topics. In my company, I always feel rushed and don't have time to learn as much as I'd like to.
- I had more than one career. Working only in industry after graduation would have been pretty sad I think. Not that it's bad but it's great to see something different
- I developed some skills (for instance talking in front of audience, write scientific papers) and got to meet a lot of interesting people, and worked in different countries.
I also learned that research wasn't for me but it was worth doing the PhD anyway. If I had to do it again, I would pick my topic more carefully, and go straight to industry rather than pursuing an academic position (which I actually didn't like). Also money wise, even though I'm not materialistic, the pay was too low. Certainly enough to live, but not enough to secure my future and retirement.
I have a PhD, got an academic position and then worked in various companies (startups, big tech company). These paths aren't exclusive.
I'm glad I did the PhD.
- it gave me time to work on a variety of interesting topics. In my company, I always feel rushed and don't have time to learn as much as I'd like to.
- I had more than one career. Working only in industry after graduation would have been pretty sad I think. Not that it's bad but it's great to see something different
- I developed some skills (for instance talking in front of audience, write scientific papers) and got to meet a lot of interesting people, and worked in different countries.
I also learned that research wasn't for me but it was worth doing the PhD anyway. If I had to do it again, I would pick my topic more carefully, and go straight to industry rather than pursuing an academic position (which I actually didn't like). Also money wise, even though I'm not materialistic, the pay was too low. Certainly enough to live, but not enough to secure my future and retirement.