Colleagues with "fake" advanced degrees? Ordered to address someone as "Doctor" (online doctorate)

[Anonymous]

I was out of the workforce for about 15 years, then finished my bachelor's and master's at the end of my SAHM tenure, so I'm not sure if this a recent phenom or I'm just more perceptive of it after a run-in with one of these types.

It began with a professional peer my age randomly adding "Dr." to their internal email. I got wind folks directly under this person were ordered (and corrected) to address them as "Dr. so-and-so" moving forward. "Dr." was added to their desk, board meeting and office door name plates. According to LinkedIn, the "doctorate" was picked up from Walden University, which I had never heard of:

Walden University is an online for-profit university and Public Benefit Corporation headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I was suddenly a credential skeptic. Now I notice so many folks have shaky credentials picked up online (often from cyber for-profit schools) or from hybrid online/weekend pay-as-you-go non-selective programs at good universities that could pass as solid to masses. The persons (who are often dumb as bricks) use these credentials for end-all-be-all superiority. I noticed a correlation between lettered credentials after their name in their email signatures to lack of selectivity of the program they were in.

Does it just not matter where you get degrees anymore, it's just become a box-checking exercise for promotions and raises? I'm not being a snob, my degrees are from a barely top 100 university we lived near.

[Anonymous]

I didn’t realize only a degree from a selective university “counts”.

[Anonymous]

First, there is a difference between a for-profit, online university and an online or partially online program from a known university. The former is shady, the latter is not, even if it may not come up to your standards (some are actually excellent).

Second, what field? As a research scientist, an online doctorate is pretty unheard of and would be identified and rejected rapidly.

Third, if this is starting to affect morale, or you believe this person may profit from a title without being qualified for it, you might have to start bringing it up to trusted people in your workplace. You are under no obligation to call them by their title.

[Anonymous]

I've wondered about that too, when I started running into people in professional positions who were doing online grad degrees. But my nephew, who was diagnosed with lupus at a young age, started an online accounting degree while working in manufacturing at a pretty physical job so that he could move away from the physical job. He got a job with Blue Cross within 6 months after completing the degree and after a few years got an accounting job with Microsoft. His wife is just about to finish one in IT project management, has already been hired in a very small company which has a very large company as its sole client.

The online college they went through (Rasmussen) has existed since 1900 according to Wikipedia but like many online schools has a very low graduation rate and low student loan repayment rate.

But for profit schools have been around or more than 150 years, my grandfather attended one (the school had an entire program in penmanship although I don't know what he studied) as did some of my mom's siblings. I just looked up the history of for profit colleges and the University of Phoenix has an interesting origin story--https://www.nonprofitcollegesonline.com/history-modern-for-profit-education-sector/

[Anonymous]

A person who has a Ph.D. and demands to be addressed as Dr. is a jerk regardless of where they earned or bought their degree (the exception is an academic context where all Ph.D. are referred to as Dr.).

[Anonymous]

SAHM tenure?

Stop being the problem at work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A person who has a Ph.D. and demands to be addressed as Dr. is a jerk regardless of where they earned or bought their degree (the exception is an academic context where all Ph.D. are referred to as Dr.).

I have a PhD and work at a museum with many other PhDs. I would never ask to be addressed as Dr. but I have written reports from "Ms." to "Dr." when other staff--always men--are already identified as Dr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A person who has a Ph.D. and demands to be addressed as Dr. is a jerk regardless of where they earned or bought their degree (the exception is an academic context where all Ph.D. are referred to as Dr.).

I have a PhD and work at a museum with many other PhDs. I would never ask to be addressed as Dr. but I have written reports from "Ms." to "Dr." when other staff--always men--are already identified as Dr.

oops--meant to say that I have EDITED written reports.

My PhD is useless without a lot of caffeine!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A person who has a Ph.D. and demands to be addressed as Dr. is a jerk regardless of where they earned or bought their degree (the exception is an academic context where all Ph.D. are referred to as Dr.).

I have a PhD and work at a museum with many other PhDs. I would never ask to be addressed as Dr. but I have written reports from "Ms." to "Dr." when other staff--always men--are already identified as Dr.

Yeah, I've seen that happen a lot and that's why I think if you are in a specific field where Ph.D.s are referred to as Dr. it should apply to everyone with the degree.

[Anonymous]

Some of the degrees don't really compare to traditional MAs or PhDs, but it's not your job to make this distinction. If a person insists on being called Dr, there's probably a backstory about being treated poorly and just wanting some respect.

You can simply roll your eyes and move on. Just like many people probably roll their eyes at your 15-year employment gap...er..."SAHM tenure."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was out of the workforce for about 15 years, then finished my bachelor's and master's at the end of my SAHM tenure, so I'm not sure if this a recent phenom or I'm just more perceptive of it after a run-in with one of these types.

It began with a professional peer my age randomly adding "Dr." to their internal email. I got wind folks directly under this person were ordered (and corrected) to address them as "Dr. so-and-so" moving forward. "Dr." was added to their desk, board meeting and office door name plates. According to LinkedIn, the "doctorate" was picked up from Walden University, which I had never heard of:

Walden University is an online for-profit university and Public Benefit Corporation headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I was suddenly a credential skeptic. Now I notice so many folks have shaky credentials picked up online (often from cyber for-profit schools) or from hybrid online/weekend pay-as-you-go non-selective programs at good universities that could pass as solid to masses. The persons (who are often dumb as bricks) use these credentials for end-all-be-all superiority. I noticed a correlation between lettered credentials after their name in their email signatures to lack of selectivity of the program they were in.

Does it just not matter where you get degrees anymore, it's just become a box-checking exercise for promotions and raises? I'm not being a snob, my degrees are from a barely top 100 university we lived near.

This is odd. Where I work everyone goes by first name (we are mostly Ph.D.s and M.D.s), but if we had to add official credentials to a nameplate, etc., it would list the specific degree and not "Dr." For example, my name plate would say Jane Smith, Ph.D., not Dr. Jane Smith.

[Anonymous]

Like others have said, there's a big difference between for-profit schools and less selective, but fully legitimate, schools. Stop being elitist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A person who has a Ph.D. and demands to be addressed as Dr. is a jerk regardless of where they earned or bought their degree (the exception is an academic context where all Ph.D. are referred to as Dr.).

I'm the OP. The specific person I mentioned does not have an (online) PhD, it's another type of doctorate.

[Anonymous]

People who go out of their way to force respect based on a credential generally don't have much substance to earn respect otherwise. True expertise speaks for itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like others have said, there's a big difference between for-profit schools and less selective, but fully legitimate, schools. Stop being elitist.

What do you mean by big difference, especially as it relates to the "doctor" mentioned in OP? The professional peer says what they have *is* on par with any other doctorate program. Walden University appears to be accredited. How would you treat or interact with this Walden "doctor"?