Someone made a remark about my sister’s career and it made me wonder ...
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Anonymous
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My sister earned her PhD in Education a few weeks ago
We are so proud of her. While she choose to forgo academia, she is using her degree to work for the state board of education When I went out with a few friends we met random strangers and made small talk. I gushed about my sister and how she’s a badass scientist. They assumed she was curing the next epidemic or doing cancer research and I said “No. her research is in education!” Then they started laughing ?... Then one of the strangers quipped she’s not a scientist !l” So I rebutted I think my sister would know her own title and just tried to change topics so I wouldn’t get heated Why would someone say something so ignorant ? She’s literally helping bring new research No it’s not the latest cancer cure but education is important. Her focus is on literacy. |
Anonymous
| Um, she’s not a scientist. Researchers aren’t all scientists. She’s badass, sure—just not a scientist. |
Anonymous
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Kudos for being proud of your sister.
Those people were nothing but jerks. |
Anonymous
| Maybe say she’s a researcher. Because you’re setting yourself up for reactions like that. They were jerks, but I would think the same. |
Anonymous
| I have a PhD in computational physics. Education, while a noble profession, is more of a social science or softer science. |
Anonymous
| because it's NOT science. |
Anonymous
| She's not a scientist. She's a researcher. They are not the same. That said your sisters achievements are awesome and you must be so proud. |
Anonymous
It’s not a social science. |
Anonymous
+1. Your sister is a hero |
Anonymous
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I have a PhD in computer science.
Education as a discipline is not science. And a PhD doesn’t change that. You can say she’s a researcher, but then you might still get those reactions because most people would naturally assume science. I’d probably say that she works in education. Or at best you could say she’s a social scientist. |
Anonymous
| Try the term social scientist. |
Anonymous
+1. This. |
Anonymous
| They’re RUDE and she’s not a scientist. |
Anonymous
| Education isn’t a social science either. I know scientists thinks social science is a softer BSy category, but it doesn’t actually encompass everything else in the world... |
Anonymous
| When you make casual conversation with strangers, don't "gush" about your sister, who isn't even there. |