Can anyone tell me about becoming a researcher through a PhD program? How much will the degree help my chances of becoming a researcher? Will it matter what school I go to? How much?

Does anyone have any info on what the job prospects are like for CS PhD graduates? From what I hear, I will be overqualified for many jobs, but others say it will open up more difficult/exciting challenges. I like the idea of the latter, but am wondering how hard/easy it is the get one of those awesome positions. Also, does anyone know anything about the day to day of being a researcher? Do researchers, in the industry, work mostly alone or on a team? Do they write code, or conduct experiments (or go to meetings)? What are the hours like? How is the job market/competition for these jobs?

 

Additional inquiry - Do researchers have the dreaded "expiration date" that software developers supposedly have (a lot of places that I read it say to get out of development before age 40).

Normally, I can get away with doing this kind of research through Google searches, but I've been having a hard time finding the info I want on this particular subject...

http://www.quora.com/Computer-Science/What-is-life-like-for-PhDs-in-computer-science-who-go-into-industry

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