Do you think you are smarter than me because you have a graduate degree?

[Anonymous]

Nope, not smarter than you because I have a graduate degree. I am more educated than you, though.

Many of the smartest people I know have little to no college. One of the smartest men I know did not graduate from high school

Having more education does not make you smarter. It makes you more knowledgeable about the areas you studied. That does not have to come from a classroom. Knowledge and wisdom can come in many different formats.

+1. This OP. Many, although not all, people who pursue grad degree do so to gain greater specialized knowledge. The degree often, although again not always, means that they will have greater expertise in a specific field than you, and it might very well aid them in any related work and make them more competitive professionally. Of course it does not mean that they are "better" or "smarter" - that concern seems to come from you alone.

[Anonymous]

I think OP is confusing knowledge with intellect. An advanced degree improves your knowledge in a specific discipline, it does not make you a genius. Intellect is your ability to draw from your knowledge and experiences to solve problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Nope, not smarter than you because I have a graduate degree. I am more educated than you, though.

Many of the smartest people I know have little to no college. One of the smartest men I know did not graduate from high school

Having more education does not make you smarter. It makes you more knowledgeable about the areas you studied. That does not have to come from a classroom. Knowledge and wisdom can come in many different formats.

+1. This OP. Many, although not all, people who pursue grad degree do so to gain greater specialized knowledge. The degree often, although again not always, means that they will have greater expertise in a specific field than you, and it might very well aid them in any related work and make them more competitive professionally. Of course it does not mean that they are "better" or "smarter" - that concern seems to come from you alone.

+2 At the professional level, intelligence is almost irrelevant. What matters is subject matter expertise, work ethic, and competence. So, no, I don't think I'm smarter than someone without a graduate degree, just as I'm not dumber than someone who has a PhD. Rather, I think I've made different choices and developed different areas of expertise.

[Anonymous]

Smarter or superior? No. Of course not.
A few points, though:
-graduate degrees vary widely
-in the sciences, if you are paying to go to grad school, you are doing it wrong
-in the sciences, it takes much longer than "a couple of years" to earn a PhD
-it's anything but "going through the motions" to spend years designing & executing experiments, analyzing the data, etc. one might spend months conducting experiments that don't really work, only to start from scratch again. With few external deadlines, it takes a lot of self-motivation. Course-based degrees are different, of course.

That said, you can't make someone smarter (only more educated or experienced), and grad school is definitely not always the wisest financial decision.

[Anonymous]

I personally think a Ph.D in most humanities disciplines is worse than useless since the prospects of employment afterwards are so grim these days and the opportunity cost of spending some of the most productive years of one's working life in school is extremely high. So generally, I do raise an eyebrow when I hear of someone going into such a program now.... makes me think they are not very bright and/or have a really awful reckoning to face in 6 to 9 years. Or that they are independently wealthy (in which case, I can think of much better things to do with the best years of my life than being in grad school). I do know some people in academia who look down on people in professional fields -- i.e. biglaw, consultants, business, etc. I guess it often runs both ways though so whatever, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Smarter or superior? No. Of course not.
A few points, though:
-graduate degrees vary widely
-in the sciences, if you are paying to go to grad school, you are doing it wrong
-in the sciences, it takes much longer than "a couple of years" to earn a PhD
-it's anything but "going through the motions" to spend years designing & executing experiments, analyzing the data, etc. one might spend months conducting experiments that don't really work, only to start from scratch again. With few external deadlines, it takes a lot of self-motivation. Course-based degrees are different, of course.

That said, you can't make someone smarter (only more educated or experienced), and grad school is definitely not always the wisest financial decision.

Agree with everything you've said except the bolded. That's kind of an outdated thought about intelligence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I'm smarter. I do think I am more accomplished.

That's tautological, in the sense that people with graduate degrees have accomplished something (namely, a graduate degree) that people without graduate degrees have not.

On the other hand, a graduate degree is not the only possible accomplishment. Which means that a person without a graduate degree could well be more accomplished than a person with a graduate degree. What have you accomplished besides getting a graduate degree?

--Got scholarships for undergrad and a full ride to grad school paid for by my employer
--Steadily climbed career ladder from undergrad on, and now make six figures and set my own hours
--My byline has appeared numerous times in The Washington Post
--Two beautiful, healthy children, and a wonderful husband
--Homeowner
--Works of fiction published in literary journals
--Presented at an international literary conference
--Overcame a serious health issue for which I received a pretty grim diagnosis, and am healthy and happy
--Volunteer/donor
--Active member of my church

We good?

You sound like one of those deeply insecure striver types. You probably have a bunch of stuff framed on your office walls that displays these things.

Asked and answered. The PP asked me what I had accomplished besides my graduate degree. There's my answer. Sorry you don't like it.

I have two pieces of artwork from HomeGoods and a ton of artwork/photos from my kids displayed in my office. That's it. Sorry to disappoint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nope, not smarter than you because I have a graduate degree. I am more educated than you, though.

Many of the smartest people I know have little to no college. One of the smartest men I know did not graduate from high school

Having more education does not make you smarter. It makes you more knowledgeable about the areas you studies. That does not have to come from a classroom. Knowledge and wisdom can come in many different formats.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Nope, not smarter than you because I have a graduate degree. I am more educated than you, though.

Many of the smartest people I know have little to no college. One of the smartest men I know did not graduate from high school

Having more education does not make you smarter. It makes you more knowledgeable about the areas you studied. That does not have to come from a classroom. Knowledge and wisdom can come in many different formats.

+1. This OP. Many, although not all, people who pursue grad degree do so to gain greater specialized knowledge. The degree often, although again not always, means that they will have greater expertise in a specific field than you, and it might very well aid them in any related work and make them more competitive professionally. Of course it does not mean that they are "better" or "smarter" - that concern seems to come from you alone.

And OK said exactly that in her first post. So your point is?

Many people, particularly in the DC area seen to think that their degrees give then superiority. They don't.

[Anonymous]

OP not OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I'm smarter. I do think I am more accomplished.

That's tautological, in the sense that people with graduate degrees have accomplished something (namely, a graduate degree) that people without graduate degrees have not.

On the other hand, a graduate degree is not the only possible accomplishment. Which means that a person without a graduate degree could well be more accomplished than a person with a graduate degree. What have you accomplished besides getting a graduate degree?

--Got scholarships for undergrad and a full ride to grad school paid for by my employer
--Steadily climbed career ladder from undergrad on, and now make six figures and set my own hours
--My byline has appeared numerous times in The Washington Post
--Two beautiful, healthy children, and a wonderful husband
--Homeowner
--Works of fiction published in literary journals
--Presented at an international literary conference
--Overcame a serious health issue for which I received a pretty grim diagnosis, and am healthy and happy
--Volunteer/donor
--Active member of my church

We good?

You sound like one of those deeply insecure striver types. You probably have a bunch of stuff framed on your office walls that displays these things.

Asked and answered. The PP asked me what I had accomplished besides my graduate degree. There's my answer. Sorry you don't like it.

I have two pieces of artwork from HomeGoods and a ton of artwork/photos from my kids displayed in my office. That's it. Sorry to disappoint.

The question was addressed to the general you, not to the specific you-the-PP you -- I apologize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I'm smarter. I do think I am more accomplished.

That's tautological, in the sense that people with graduate degrees have accomplished something (namely, a graduate degree) that people without graduate degrees have not.

On the other hand, a graduate degree is not the only possible accomplishment. Which means that a person without a graduate degree could well be more accomplished than a person with a graduate degree. What have you accomplished besides getting a graduate degree?

--Got scholarships for undergrad and a full ride to grad school paid for by my employer
--Steadily climbed career ladder from undergrad on, and now make six figures and set my own hours
--My byline has appeared numerous times in The Washington Post
--Two beautiful, healthy children, and a wonderful husband
--Homeowner
--Works of fiction published in literary journals
--Presented at an international literary conference
--Overcame a serious health issue for which I received a pretty grim diagnosis, and am healthy and happy
--Volunteer/donor
--Active member of my church

We good?

You sound like one of those deeply insecure striver types. You probably have a bunch of stuff framed on your office walls that displays these things.

Asked and answered. The PP asked me what I had accomplished besides my graduate degree. There's my answer. Sorry you don't like it.

I have two pieces of artwork from HomeGoods and a ton of artwork/photos from my kids displayed in my office. That's it. Sorry to disappoint.

The question was addressed to the general you, not to the specific you-the-PP you -- I apologize.

lol, you're wasting your time. Her reply shows she doesn't get it at all..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get the impression from many posts on DCUM that people with graduate degrees thinks that this bestows on them some kind of superiority over those who don't.

Sure, I give you props for doing that studying, especially if you have a PhD, but it doesn't make you innately more intelligent than I am (without a graduate degree), just because you have that degree (though you probably have more specialized knowledge than I do in the one specialized area that you studied). I have worked with and known many people with impressive educational qualifications and rarely has their intellect blown me away. In fact, I regularly come across people with graduate degrees who don't learn particularly quickly or have very deep insight into whatever we are working on/discussing, or have extremely little knowledge of the world around them.

Basically the difference between you with your graduate degree and me, without one, is that you bothered to apply, pay a lot of money and study for an extra couple of years. I could have done that too. It wouldn't make me any better at my job. It wouldn't make me superior to my pre-grad school self.

Likewise, when I hire staff I am more impressed with solid work experience than graduate school.

Sounds like someone needs a red sports car.

I have nothing to prove. Quite the opposite in fact. I know that I am typically smarter than most of my peers, regardless of how educated they might be. It's just a fact of life, not something I give much thought to. I also don't think peers are superior to me if they are wealthier or more successful (in their career) than me. Yet people here on DCUM like to brag about those things too. I have all that I need, and then some. Just something I pondered after reading some brags here and talking to some millennial at work about their grad school plans.

Glad to see that that most posters agree with me (even though many of then don't seem smart enough to realize that what they are saying is exactly the same as my OP.)

[Anonymous]

I would think after about 10 or so years out in the workforce, your degree, advanced or not, in most cases, really shouldn't matter. It's the experience, and in some cases, how you think (quickly or abstract or whatever is required in that profession) that indicates how good you are in that field.

There are very smart people that hate being in a school type setting. They much prefer to be hands on in the workplace. These people probably don't go on to get advanced degrees unless they need it for their job.

I have worked with some people with advanced degrees that were not so very smart in the field we were in. Maybe the person was book smart, but they sure weren't "work" smart. How well or how far one does in school does not always equate to how well one does in the work place, or in life for that matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

lol, you're wasting your time. Her reply shows she doesn't get it at all..

Yes, I don't consider my children or my husband to be personal accomplishments.