Calling a Ph.D "Doctor"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Joe Biden always addressed his wife as Dr. Jill Biden and insisted others do the same even though her academic credentials peaked with her teaching one class at Northern Virginia Community College. Go figure.

Yep. Ridiculous.

From wiki
"Jill Biden has a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware, master's degrees from West Chester University and Villanova University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Delaware. She taught English and reading in high schools for 13 years, and also taught adolescents with emotional disabilities at a psychiatric hospital. From 1993 to 2008, she was an English and writing instructor at Delaware Technical & Community College. Since 2009, she has been a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College and is thought to be the first Second Lady to hold a paying job while her husband was Vice President. She is the founder of the Biden Breast Health Initiative[1] non-profit organization, co-founder of the Book Buddies[1] program, is active in Delaware Boots on the Ground, and is co-founder of Joining Forces[2] with First Lady Michelle Obama."

[Anonymous]

But another Hall of Famer, Bobby Knight, looked at college degrees this way: "BS is just what it stands for, an MS is More of the Same, and a PhD is Piled Higher and Deeper."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/03/18/youre-the-dr/98577d29-22e9-467c-8a8a-625ffbeb8db5/?utm_term=.c97f608e6a37

Christmas present: http://phdcomics.com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Joe Biden always addressed his wife as Dr. Jill Biden and insisted others do the same even though her academic credentials peaked with her teaching one class at Northern Virginia Community College. Go figure.

Yep. Ridiculous.

From wiki
"Jill Biden has a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware, master's degrees from West Chester University and Villanova University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Delaware. She taught English and reading in high schools for 13 years, and also taught adolescents with emotional disabilities at a psychiatric hospital. From 1993 to 2008, she was an English and writing instructor at Delaware Technical & Community College. Since 2009, she has been a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College and is thought to be the first Second Lady to hold a paying job while her husband was Vice President. She is the founder of the Biden Breast Health Initiative[1] non-profit organization, co-founder of the Book Buddies[1] program, is active in Delaware Boots on the Ground, and is co-founder of Joining Forces[2] with First Lady Michelle Obama."

I think he was just proud of her

[Anonymous]

She is clearly nuts, insecure or god knows what. If you are teaching at college and such, clearly students should call you Doctor.... but for a coworker to send an e-mail specifically asking you to call her Doctor, she must be off her meds.

[Anonymous]

There is a whole lot of disrespect for a PhD degree on this thread, though I think much of it comes from ignorance...In my (math/stats related) field, a PhD typically takes 6 years, in my husband's 6, followed by several years of postdocs. Competition to get accepted into the top programs is fierce, and nowadays, many, if not most, students complete MS degrees and/or take research jobs prior to applying to the PhD program to look more competitive. My mother, uncle, aunt and grandfather are all medical doctors who, thankfully, admire what we do; and at least my mother, who observed what we had to go through to get our degrees, thought it was much more challenging intellectually than her education. Why are MDs (who get that title after 4 years of medical school, without much independent thought required) deserving of so much more respect? I don't mind being called by my first name (though students from abroad will typically use Prof or Dr) - except when I receive a letter from an MD, calling me Ms. X, signed Dr. Y (when their records ask for my profession, and they are well aware of what I do). Of course I realize they have other issues to worry about when fulfilling these administrative tasks, so it is likely (hopefully) not an intentional slight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a whole lot of disrespect for a PhD degree on this thread, though I think much of it comes from ignorance...In my (math/stats related) field, a PhD typically takes 6 years, in my husband's 6, followed by several years of postdocs. Competition to get accepted into the top programs is fierce, and nowadays, many, if not most, students complete MS degrees and/or take research jobs prior to applying to the PhD program to look more competitive. My mother, uncle, aunt and grandfather are all medical doctors who, thankfully, admire what we do; and at least my mother, who observed what we had to go through to get our degrees, thought it was much more challenging intellectually than her education. Why are MDs (who get that title after 4 years of medical school, without much independent thought required) deserving of so much more respect? I don't mind being called by my first name (though students from abroad will typically use Prof or Dr) - except when I receive a letter from an MD, calling me Ms. X, signed Dr. Y (when their records ask for my profession, and they are well aware of what I do). Of course I realize they have other issues to worry about when fulfilling these administrative tasks, so it is likely (hopefully) not an intentional slight.

Did you seriously just put down an MD? An MD isn't just 4 years of med school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a whole lot of disrespect for a PhD degree on this thread, though I think much of it comes from ignorance...In my (math/stats related) field, a PhD typically takes 6 years, in my husband's 6, followed by several years of postdocs. Competition to get accepted into the top programs is fierce, and nowadays, many, if not most, students complete MS degrees and/or take research jobs prior to applying to the PhD program to look more competitive. My mother, uncle, aunt and grandfather are all medical doctors who, thankfully, admire what we do; and at least my mother, who observed what we had to go through to get our degrees, thought it was much more challenging intellectually than her education. Why are MDs (who get that title after 4 years of medical school, without much independent thought required) deserving of so much more respect? I don't mind being called by my first name (though students from abroad will typically use Prof or Dr) - except when I receive a letter from an MD, calling me Ms. X, signed Dr. Y (when their records ask for my profession, and they are well aware of what I do). Of course I realize they have other issues to worry about when fulfilling these administrative tasks, so it is likely (hopefully) not an intentional slight.

Did you seriously just put down an MD? An MD isn't just 4 years of med school.

They're different, despite requiring 2-3 years of coursework depending on the degree.

North American PhD's require original research and coursework. Professional doctorates, like MDs and JDs don't in the united states. In fact outside North America, medical and legal professionals typically hold bachelors in their disciplines, but may be addressed by their degree. Likewise, under some systems in Europe, PhDs don't require coursework, only original research. Its my understanding that European MD degrees require research, while the a Bachelor of Surgery required to practice does not.

Thats not to say that MDs and JDs can't write papers or perform original research, its just not a requirement for graduation under the US system.

I'm not going to say which is better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So there's the idea that it's nice to call people what they prefer to be called... regardless of whether you think their title is undeserved, or doesn't deserve respect, or they're crazy to insist on it...

There's also the idea of not condescendingly correcting your colleague like a pompous ass.

It is not condescending or pompous to let your colleagues know what you prefer to be called.

It's like asking about and correctly using someone's designated pronoun in order to show respect for their identity, which I'm told the kids all do these days.

This isn't the same as saying, "Oh, I actually go by James instead of Jim" or "Actually I identify as a woman, please call me Karen". This is someone trying to assert superiority by having OP refer to her as "Dr. Smith" while she continues to call OP by her first name.

And as everyone else on this thread has pointed out, when PhDs do that, it is extremely comical.

Sure it is the same. Being a PhD is part of their identity - and obviously, a very important part to them, since they spent 6 to 10 years obtaining it.

It is not an assertion of superiority to ask someone to use the correct title that you prefer them to use.

Hahaha. It is obvious from your dogged defense of this that you, too, so this. Pro tip: it's backfiring. We are all rolling our eyes at you, rather than being any sort of impressed. You sound ridiculous

Nah. People at work call me by my first name. But if someone with a PhD wants to be called "doctor" all the time, fine with me, I will do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Joe Biden always addressed his wife as Dr. Jill Biden and insisted others do the same even though her academic credentials peaked with her teaching one class at Northern Virginia Community College. Go figure.

You get the title for completing the PhD, not for teaching anything. It is proper to call her Dr. Biden. It would not be proper to call her "professor" though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Joe Biden always addressed his wife as Dr. Jill Biden and insisted others do the same even though her academic credentials peaked with her teaching one class at Northern Virginia Community College. Go figure.

You get the title for completing the PhD, not for teaching anything. It is proper to call her Dr. Biden. It would not be proper to call her "professor" though.

Oh wait, apparently she IS still teaching, so professor is appropriate too.

[Anonymous]

The anti intellectualism posters are so pathetic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Joe Biden always addressed his wife as Dr. Jill Biden and insisted others do the same even though her academic credentials peaked with her teaching one class at Northern Virginia Community College. Go figure.

Yep. Ridiculous.

From wiki
"Jill Biden has a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware, master's degrees from West Chester University and Villanova University, and a doctoral degree from the University of Delaware. She taught English and reading in high schools for 13 years, and also taught adolescents with emotional disabilities at a psychiatric hospital. From 1993 to 2008, she was an English and writing instructor at Delaware Technical & Community College. Since 2009, she has been a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College and is thought to be the first Second Lady to hold a paying job while her husband was Vice President. She is the founder of the Biden Breast Health Initiative[1] non-profit organization, co-founder of the Book Buddies[1] program, is active in Delaware Boots on the Ground, and is co-founder of Joining Forces[2] with First Lady Michelle Obama."

If you teach at a community college, your pay and prestige are negligible, and everyone knows it especially you. So, the least we can do, out of kindness, pity, and compassion, is call them doctor. Consider it a "gold star for participation" or a chirpy cry of "good job!" at an adult level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The anti intellectualism posters are so pathetic

Nah it's mainly the lawyers who are feeling insecure about their stupid degrees that exemplify credentialism run amok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Did you seriously just put down an MD? An MD isn't just 4 years of med school.

They're different, despite requiring 2-3 years of coursework depending on the degree.

North American PhD's require original research and coursework. Professional doctorates, like MDs and JDs don't in the united states. In fact outside North America, medical and legal professionals typically hold bachelors in their disciplines, but may be addressed by their degree. Likewise, under some systems in Europe, PhDs don't require coursework, only original research. Its my understanding that European MD degrees require research, while the a Bachelor of Surgery required to practice does not.

Thats not to say that MDs and JDs can't write papers or perform original research, its just not a requirement for graduation under the US system.

I'm not going to say which is better.

It also brings up the weird situation of an LLM, which is "higher" in the sense that one needs an LLB or a JD first before they can study for an LLM.

[Anonymous]

At my job I routinely interact with faculty (who have PhDs) but aren't medical doctors. Yes, I address them as Dr.