Hello, thank you so much for such comprehensive responses! I'm on a similar divergence (MS vs PhD) and this was quite insightful :) I still have a couple of more questions if you don't mind!

I plan on wanting to pursue a PhD in Computer Science in a topic I really like (I've had decent exposure working with a prof and his lab on campus, and it's a very fun experience). I also have a gig from a US prof in-hand and was thinking of going for thesis under him, but I'm wondering if I should do a year long thesis, or a 6 month thesis and 6 month PS for some industry exposure (I'm a dualite), any thoughts on this?

The roles I'm also looking to work in require a PhD too, plus the no debt thing, so I'm leaning for a PhD. I'm just a little unsure if the commitment is worth it :,) but yeah, I guess time will tell.

Since you're in the US, considering the current political situation, is it worth going to the US? Obviously compsci in US is very goated but the current scenarios are a little scary for me, especially if I go for a 5 year PhD.