[therobot24]

phd in machine learning - it was worth it, but i had an awesome advisor and my own funding (via a fellowship) so my experience is not necessarily the norm. I would never recommend a phd to someone given the time commitment (almost lost my girlfriend, and now wife, and a lot of friends), but life is way better post-phd than if i hadn't done it. I understand the bind you're in. The phd will open more doors to more interesting work, your opinion will start to have more weight, and available interesting work finds a way to your desk. Just remember that you do pay for all of this with several years of hard, stressful labor - being an expert in a specific technology can get you to the same place without nearly as much of a personal time commitment.