So get a Master's in something lucrative, and don't get a PhD when there are fifty of them for every job that requires one. Who knew!
Some of this seems to be a bit of a spoiled kid syndrome IMHO. It's like how people with a lot of money, tell people without it that "money doesn't matter" because they get unhappy sometimes too. However, I can understand putting a lot of time, money, and effort into something (like a degree) and then feeling like it never quite gave you the satisfaction you thought you would feel. It doesn't feel as fulfilling to have completed it, and instead of feeling "freer" because you have this credential, you feel even more trapped and bound to it - financially, or even career-wise. Do I regret that didn't take this class or that class...maybe. The only regrets I really have about my own degree(s) is that I didn't get them earlier. I lived through my 20's and half of my 30's where not having a degree of any kind was a barrier to accessing the opportunities I found, which is why I just got it out of the way. The second degree was just an insurance policy of sorts for my 50's A way to have some kind of competitive advantage -- we'll see how that pans out, lol. But as I've mentioned before on this board, my brother never had any college and he has been very successful, and so have many of my friends - but they have their own traps to contend with. I guess when I see stuff like this, I feel like it's asking people that have dined at a fancy restaurant if they regret getting the steak or the lobster, or the cost of the meal. Unless you've kind of gone through a time when NOT having a degree was a serious impediment to you, you may not appreciate the fact that having ANY degree often provides an advantage - the privilege is invisible so to speak. I would think that would diminish one's sense of regret.
If you put any life decision under a microscope, there will almost certainly be things that you wish you did differently. The more questions the poll asks, the more likely it is to get a "hit".
I’m a proponent of the notion that you can succeed, by traditional thinking, with any bachelors degree. When you’re looking at specializing with grad school though, one really should be considering real ROI ramifications. Nor just the financial investment, but also the time involvement.
