My team works on a fairly well known technology-intensive software product (I won’t say which one, but, chances are, you have it on your PC).
We don’t have a single Ph.D. on our team. We had two Ph.D.s in the past. Both of them turned out to be incompetent at writing the actual code, one got into a conflict with management, the other was let go due to being relatively useless. I participated in many interviews of prospective applicants. The overall level of practical skills of Ph.D.s is quite appalling.
Admittedly, we don’t have the resources of Microsoft or Motorola, and so we’re light on R&D, where those degrees might shine. Even so, a bright B.S. in EE with good understanding of the technology is more likely to come up with something nice and patentable than a run-of-the-mill Ph.D. who stayed in an ivory tower till the age of 30.
I don’t think there are many people in IT without any degrees whatsoever. But a B.S. in EE/CS/physics/even math, combined with good work experience and brains, is a sufficient qualification for most jobs.
