I should also add there’s a great difference between the academic requirements/hoops required for a Masters and a PhD.
And that gap may be wider depending on whether the Masters is a thesis-based Masters requiring 1.5-2 years of full-time study* or a more professional oriented with less requirements such as a capstone project or sometimes only passing 1 year’s worth of “graduate” classes.
- Or 3-4 years of part-time study if one has a job and the employer's paying.