<p>As far as the number of jobs and job types available to each degree holder, the order goes like so:
MS > BS > PhD</p>
<p>Someone with an MS can basically be considered for any job that someone with only a BS can be considered for, but they also have a subset of additional jobs for which they are qualified that are not available to someone with just a BS. In other words, an MS opens doors for you without closing many (or even any) other doors.</p>
<p>A PhD, on the other hand, is an entirely different animal. With a PhD, you are opening an whole new array of career paths for yourself such as academia, pure and applied research and the more technical (and in my opinion, more “fun”) R&D positions. Conversely, with a PhD you become overqualified to work at a lot of jobs that you otherwise would have had as options with a BS or MS. The vast majority of BS-level jobs are not an option anymore and many MS jobs are not an option anymore. In other words, a PhD closes more doors than it opens.</p>
<p>The thing about a PhD is that if you get one, you need to be in it for the right reasons, i.e. the doors it opens lead to jobs that are vastly more interesting to you than the ones it closes. There is virtually no financial benefit to a PhD as compared to an MS in most cases.</p>
<p>On the bright side, despite there being a lot fewer jobs available to PhD’s, the employment prospects are actually better, even during this recession. This is largely due to the fact that while there are fewer PhD jobs compared to BS/MS jobs, there are comparatively fewer PhD holders compared to BS/MS holders.</p>