[BeetleB]

Oh yeah. I spent years in grad school and dropped out without completing, but it was totally worth it, because I got to study stuff I was really interested in.

Definitely don't do a PhD if you're not crazy interested in the topic. It's not worth it otherwise.

The difficult thing is for people like me: I needed perhaps 2 more years to finish the PhD, but I was getting a strong sense that I wouldn't get the career I wanted - so I quit. Those extra 2 years would not have increased my knowledge significantly, but for many, it's hard to justify quitting ("if I don't get the PhD, then all those years would have been wasted!")

When I went into industry, I got a first hand look at the job I would have had if I completed the PhD. Very grateful I quit. Crappy, crappy job.