If you are looking for Teaching field then PhD is beneficial. Otherwise experience in corporate sector or government sector is accepted. The question is elusive, it is up to you what you look for in future. 

Teaching sector is not the only demand area for PhD holders. Research as well. If depends what fraction of GDP is allocated for R&D in a particular country. US has probably higher share, and then more PhD holders per thousand of population can find there job in research.

As I see, Malaysia is approaching the fraction in UK (0.8 holders per 1000 versus 1.25). But it is likely to have less teaching and research jobs per 1000 of population.

The ability to pay attention to details is gotten as well as nurture the next generation intellectually while actually solving problems within the society and beyond

The Economist posted an article on this subject on 16 December 2010 (see The Disposable Academic, available at http://www.economist.com/node/17723223.) The piece attracted 190 comments, which make good, balanced reading too.

PhD is one of many doctorates. It depends on your field. Where you received your doctorate is as important as having one. If you want to do research for a large corporation or a top 75 university, you would need a PhD from a top university. University of Texas or Washington University in St Louis would not consider a vitae with a PhD from a school that was not top 25 (approximately). Outside of those fields, a PhD or doctorate does more harm than good in many cases. If you have more education that the person conducting the interviews, it is unlikely you will get an interview for a job. It is unfortunate but in the US, the jobs that pay the most are the sales positions that are commission and the only education you need is the skills for that particular product or service you are selling. There are people selling tile for floors and walls that are making double what teachers are making and yet our society does not see anything wrong with that. I am not saying to reduce the tile salesperson's commission, but, rather, increase the teacher's salary to be more inline with the benefits of society. If all the good and excellent teachers leave teaching to sell tile, our society will be in a dire situation in a generation (which in many areas of the US, that is the case).

In Summary, a PhD from an Ivy school opens many doors. A doctorate from a lower tier school does not open many doors and the pay rarely compensates for the expense.

PhD is valuable if the holder keep adding value to it through research, teaching and consultancy policy making etc thus it's value depends on the holder.  The opportunities for PhD are many and can be gotten only if the holder of the PhD keeps adding value that's the uniqueness of this qualification 

If by commercial value you mean salaries and other forms of monetary remuneration, the MBA in the business area would be more financially lucrative. For managerial roles, a PhD would hardly add to your earning power. In consultancy and advisory, a PhD is incremental that tends to add more value when combined with a solid record of achievements in industry, advisory or consultancies. The PhD in this respect places the candidate a rung above those without a PhD but otherwise possess the other experiences and qualifications. In academe, it is now a must - with the top universities commanding a premium.

If you come from a practitioner's background, a PhD does give you more flexibility to move from managerial roles to advisory (or consultancy), or eventually to academe if that is of interest. Technocratic positions in government, in some countries at least, appear to prefer having a PhD amidst the bureaucrats for reasons that are not always related to competence or intellect. 

The Value of a PhD degree depends heavily on the country you decide to work in and on the publications you are working on, hıgh ımpact publications and a country where PhD holders are respected = high value 

 study new idea and focus on the real love.

Thanks Jennifer for your question.

It offered me the opportunity to read excellent answers from the colleagues above.

I wish you great success in your studies and career!!

Teaching and research are two areas where a PhD would be beneficial . Educational Institutions for teaching and Industry for research are the main sectors. The domain in which you have obtained doctrate will open up opportunities in that particular area. However, the quality of the thesis determines candidate's job prospects. In other words, the research undertaken should add some new knowledge to the existing field.

Dear Jennifer congratulation for your research. First I want to say that there is a preconceived idea that PhD are high performers, but this bilief fails to explain whether PhD perform better in academia, industry, or any specific field. My suggestion is that benefit of being PhD are moderated by some variables as the domain or area of speciaization, availability of PhD holders in the market, the performance of other graduates with no PhD degree.