You think degree is important? I am trying to finish my PhD. But I don't want to stay in academia after I finish. Would my degree be helpful in getting any SWE jobs?
With the OP, he's 4 months away from finishing his degree. In the grand scheme of life, that's a "blink of an eye". There is no point not to, and (I don't agree with this at all) people judge you differently if you have a degree vs. not.
Employers basically hire staff to get stuff done. The rest is details about specialization, experience, skill-set, etc. All of which is rendered irrelevant if you don't get the jobs you are assigned done.
Re: a PhD -- ideally you should ask the question why you want one is before you start. Cursory research quickly reveals that academia as a career track is very challenging. You don't need a PhD to be a great SWE. A PhD is training to be a researcher and an expert in a specific field.
Thinking to my own experience, PhDs are pretty uncommon but of those I've worked with, some are brilliant, and some are terrible -- just like non-PhDs. I wouldn't consider a candidate with a PhD better than a non-PhD candidate, but then some people would love to hire someone with a PhD. I'd say on balance, it's a positive to have, but I would never recommend someone pursue a PhD as a route into a SWE role. A year of hobbyist programming experience is enough to get a SWE job.
But I see anything above Bachelors as a personal preference (with a few exceptions). If you want to finish PhD, then go for it.