I&#x27;m really not an authority on this, but to answer the question of &quot;do I need a PhD&quot;, my view is that it depends on which &#x27;part&#x27; of HCI you want to do.<p>Do you want to work on Project Soli at ATAP? Which part, the actual hardware &#x2F; Radio antenna design? Then a PhD in analog design might be required to be qualified. Do you want to do the signal interpretation &#x2F; analysis to detect gestures? Maybe a strong background in signals, filtering or even machine learning may be required.<p>HCI work can involve a lot of specific specialization which often requires these research &#x2F; industry giants to demand a strong testament of your qualifications. Although not required, a PhD is often an easy way for them to see that.<p>If it is the more &#x27;high-level&#x27; stuff, I&#x27;m not sure, as sometime a &#x27;PhD in HCI&#x27; itself may be required (although I don&#x27;t know too much what a &#x27;PhD in HCI&#x27; entails)<p>Source: Experiences with HCI PhD&#x27;s at UC Berkeley