Is there anyone working in ML who regrets not getting a PhD?

I've considered a PhD because this is very much a field I want to get into, but I also don't really want to be a traditional software engineer anymore. However, I'm also mid 30s and my undergrad degree isn't CS. To get into a PhD program, I'd probably need to get a CS masters. To get a CS masters I have to take at least a year or two of undergrad classes (expensive and time consuming) just to get to a place where I can apply to a masters program. I'd also have to spend a year or more applying. Between masters program, then applying to PhD program, then finishing PhD program, I would be in my early 40s. I would also likely be taking a pay cut from my product manager career now, and I would lose out on a ton of income over the course of my PhD program (probably close to a million dollars worth).

It just doesn't make sense to spend 7-8 years of school for only 20 meaningful years left of my career when I finish.

I work as a DS lead and have been as DS since 2016. I don't have a master's degree, only a bachelors degree in Econ and a bachelor's degree in Stats. However I code since I'm 14yo, so I'm very capable in the programming side of things.

I have missed carrer oportunities due to the fact that I don't have any further academic achievements besides a bachelors's degree. The small startup might hire you, but the large bank, or more "settled" company, or a large consultancy (big4) won't. That has been my experience so far.

I graduated in 2020 and was considering doing a PhD in NLP as I had already been doing research at a lab. I ended up joining a series A startup, trying to turn research into products.

I don't regret it much, as I was tired of being a broke student. Also I think the problems you run into in industry are more interesting. However, I do think my skills stagnated a bit and I learned more when doing research.

Definitely don't regret it because I'm more interested in the engineering problems around ML rather than research and I don't want to spend that long working on ML anyway. It gets boring after a few years.

If you want to do research, and want to work somewhere prestigious, and plan to do it for a long time, then doing a PhD makes a lot of sense.