Current Counseling MA student considering PhD--Advice on LPC vs Psychologist

[confluent_qualia]

I'm currently a Clinical Mental Health Counseling MA student in my 3rd semester, due to begin internship in the Fall. I went into the program despite being a prime candidate for a PhD program because I had a weird experience during my Psychology undergrad completing an Honor's Thesis and dealing with an advisor who left me feeling unsupported and, quite frankly—stupid, making the idea of completing a dissertation very unattractive to me. Due to this, I decided to forego a doctorate when I realized that LPCs and Psychologists in practice due a lot of similar work and that LPCs could practice independently. However, I'm beginning to realize that my current program isn't preparing me in many ways to be an effective clinician, particularly from an assessment/diagnosis/psychopathology lens (which isn't really the core focus of Counselors anyway).

1st Question: I've done some research and looked at some numbers, but I want to hear from former Master's-level clinicians who pursued a PhD/PsyD: Are career opportunities and pay for clinical/counseling psychologists truly better than Master's level clinicians to warrant the extra time in school? Keep in mind: I've worked a service-industry job during my entire undergrad and my MA, so the idea of being a PhD student and receiving a stipend/waiver is unfathomable (in a good way) to me.

2nd Question: I didn't "complete" my Honor's Thesis because I didn't do the last edit and the binding into a book, therefore the designation doesn't appear on my transcript, despite graduating summa cum laude. Now that I'm considering a doctorate after my MA, I realized that I "ghosted" on a couple professors who were my advisor/PIs during my undergrad because I was under a lot of stress at the time and just wanted to move on with my life—i had already been accepted to the MA program and did not intend on pursuing a PhD. I'm worried, probably illogically so, that one or both resents me for ditching their line of research and cutting off communication despite the fact I'm going to the same school for my MA. Would I *absolutely* need one or both for a letter of rec? Are undergrad letters based on my research experience more valued than graduate letters based on clinical work? To be clear: I'm more interested in Counseling Psyc programs than Clinical and I intend on finishing my MA.

There's a lot to unpack here, and I apologize, but I'd like to thank ya'll in advance!

Edited January 2, 2020 by confluent_qualia