well, yeah, I wouldn't recommend that anyone go beyond a master's degree without a real love for either their discipline or academics or intellectual endeavors in general, something of that sort. that's my translation of "burning desire," i guess. a life passion sort of thing. But a master's degree takes less time, doesn't require a dissertation, and is often more useful than a liberal arts degree, or so I hear from recent graduates.

but yeah, profs will know more about opportunities in your field, obviously. hopefully they can give some good advice.