I see what Grab means about "Academic success doesn't start until PhD level, which is the point where you're actually making a contribution to the knowledge in your field". To gain a PhD you HAVE to make a contribution to your field. I'm sitting here trying to type up my first PhD review. I have a "mission statement" in front of me that says that students must generate new research ideas, convince others that they're good ideas, do the research to show they're viable, and then publish the results so they are available to everyone. For my BA and my MSc I didn't have to make a valid contribution. I was taught the background facts of my subject, and I worked on small scale projects for my dissertations. Now I'm into the realms of being taken seriously (I hope) and actually coming up with new ways of doing things. Of course, that's not to say people can't make a significant contribution at an earlier stage, just that many don't get that chance. At PhD level you have to, or you don't get the PhD.