Are PhDs losers? Also are MBAs and lesser Masters!

PhD used to be gold the standard of academic achievement.
It is a terminal degree, the admission to a PhD programme is
demanding, in US, GPA of 4.5 out of 5.0 in some graduate
schools for some disciplines, and in UK 2:1 or second class
honours upper division is what you need to get into a PhD
although a first class honours or a Master degree is preferred.
But for overseas students, PhD is an easier route than a good
job that can lead to a career. For a young student in UK with
a honours degree may find it hard to secure a good graduate
programme. So for them, instead of going back to their home
countries to make 300 dollars a month, it is easier to proceed
to a MS/MA followed by PhD with scholarship or direct entry
into PhD degree programmes. After PhD, it is relatively easier
to get a low paid post-doc or fellowship job although may not
be as good as well paid jobs. PhD programmes are havens for
those cannot get good jobs. For British and Americans, unless
they are academically inclined they do not need any graduate
degree to get a decent living leading to a suburban 2 storied
house, 2 cars, 3 kids with a stay-at-home-wife, a nice doggie
and a boat. So while PhDs will strive to get a job, a 4 years
degree holder can lead such a good life. So in a sense PhDs
are losers for locals but for overseas students and immigrants
PhD stipends and academic track careers are not that shitty.
You see a lot of overseas students in any PhD programmes.
It is not that glory to have a PhD in some circles. PhDs are no
longer badges of honour but proofs of citizenship in loserdom.
The same story goes for a MBA, as in the past MBA were rare
and elitist degrees leading to lucrative careers but now even if
you have earned an MBA, you may not get the six figure jobs
in Walls Street, or City in London. MBA no longer is essential
status symbol of high achievers, it has become a good to have
paper. Still there is some value have in those degrees, as in the
past, a degree holder is seen as an intellectual, but nowadays,
basic degree holders are seen as illiterates in some social circles.
So peer pressure drives every Dick and Tom into graduate or
business degrees. It is especially true for people who earned
undergraduate degrees from less prestigious universities. As
some pompous Oxbridge graduates might say, not all degrees
are created equal.  See news piece of Guardian paper below:

Does it matter which Oxford you go to?

Vice-chancellors of Oxford Brookes and Oxford University stumble
in weighing worth of 2:1 degrees
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/mar/31/oxford-degree-worth