[data_maan]

Let me expound on this, as there's a lot of PhD hate in the comments parallel to mine.

What is unique to a PhD is that you took a very long time to master a small slice of the knowledge pie. The emphasis here is on long time: Most people simply aren't willing to go for years on a low salary and tedious job.

It doesn't mean PhD's are more (or less) creative, top coders and whatnot; it means we took the time to read all the papers, to know all previous solution attempts and who all the big players in the field are ("all" w.r.t. our niche). It also mean we can read papers much faster than other people because that is basically what we do all day.

There you have it! Now don't send me ML job offers, cause I gotta read this next obscure paper to figure out if they are legit. :D Just kidding.