Hi,
I'm currently doing my Masters in philosophy at the moment. I did my undergraduate degree in Journalism and Politics. I wanted, at the time, to become a writer (books, etc), and I eventually decided on becoming an academic. After much consideration, I think I want to do the former.
The reason: well, first, I'm in Australia, and although studying for the PhD is free here, there aren't many jobs in philosophy departments. Most don't get jobs. So, I want to write books now, and if you know anything about the publishing industry, you would know that it's a lot harder to get books published (through decent publishers) than it was in the past. With a PhD, I believe it would help in getting my work through. Yes, I am aware that content is very important, too, but having the PhD credential, I believe, would help.
So, having nearly half-way done my masters, should I continue with the PhD (they've dropped the word count to 60,000-80,000 words, and keep in mind that it's free, and can be done within 3 years, not seven like in America) for the sake of becoming a writer (non-fiction)?
I also want to write on many topics, and some of them might seem very abstract, weird, controversial, etc, and it's another reason for the PhD.
Thanks for your time.