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<p>Well, yes, but I think that has more to do with what people want. The fact is, a lot of people who get PHD’s are doing so precisely because they want to get teaching jobs and they don’t want to get a ‘regular’ job in industry. </p>
<p>Also, as far as the notion of overqualification in the sense that companies won’t hire you because you have a PhD (and so they think you will not be happy with a regular job and hence you will leave and so the company will then have to spend money finding somebody to replace you), one simple way to combat that is to simply omit your PhD on your resume. There’s no rule that says that you have to name every single academic qualification you have. I know one guy who has a PhD in computer science and is looking for a high-level research job with a big software company like Microsoft or Oracle, but right now is tiding himself over with short (but highly lucrative) contracts computer database design work. So he has 2 resumes - one where he lists his doctorate, and another where he doesn’t. I wouldn’t feel sorry for him, for he makes well over $125 an hour doing his database work, and that’s obviously not too shabby. </p>
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<p>I do agree with your general premise that nobody should take the PhD lightly. Without a doubt, it is a major commitment and is, often times, a losing financial investment. If all you want is money, then you should bag the PhD and just go get your MBA and become an investment banker. You should go for the PhD because you are so interested in the subject that you could envision spending your whole life in an academic/research setting, not just for the money.</p>