My name is Jones. Dr. Jones.

[Mulligan]

Good job prof12! I can't stand referring to academic PHd's as "Dr." I did it decades ago as a student rather than face the crap the ego-freaks would have rained down on me. But today, no way, not even when asked to in formal circumstances.

I even refer to my MD by his first name. He's 20 yrs younger than me and likely hasn't accomplished as much as I in life. And he's never flinched when I've done so. I do allow him to refer to me by my first name as well.

The majority of the PHD programs in my area are just a diploma mill. A few are rigorous but most people avoid those, because all they really wanted was the title. I also had a couple good friends who had their admin. doctorate, but were still teaching under me. I would let them have it. At the lunch table I would say occasionally "You two are obviously smarter than me because you have your doctorates, as I only have a masters. But yet I am your boss and make twice as much as you both do, and don't have a $30,000 student loan...Wait maybe I am smarter than both of you!"


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[pb4uski]

Sounds like ego to me.....did you ask if he was a Proctologist??

He probably was not a proctologist... but it sounds like he needs one to help him get his head out of his ass.

 

[timo2]

This Dr. business can backfire. I worked with a man with a PhD in Geology, and one time in the 1970's he went somewhere in Mexico to look at rocks. His secretary made him hotel reservations in a little town, and use Dr. in his name as he preferred that. When he arrived at this hotel, apparently, according to him, there was a line of people with children waiting at the hotel for a medical doctor.

 

[prof12]

Meadbh--

Not in my world they don't!!!!!!

 

[brewer12345]

What a jackwagon.

DW and I have 3 master's from name brand (and stoopidly expensive) schools and an alphabet's worth of letters after our names. I very much do not want to be recognized for any of that crap. It is my fervent hope that when I hop out of the truck in my thrift shop clothes and 3 days' worth of beard growth you would only respect me for what I say and do.

 

[robnplunder]

What about rich professors or poor physicians?

Really? Are they real doctors?

 

[Meadbh]

Really? Are they real doctors?

Ok, how about this: female family doctor working part time at a clinic for $45k per annum. I met her 10 years ago, but still.....

 

[steelyman]

Really? Are they real doctors?

It's my understanding she is. So she'd know. More than me, anyway.

 

[imoldernu]

Mister... If it's good enough for a president, it's good enough for me.

 

[pb4uski]

Mister... If it's good enough for a president, it's good enough for me.

So if a MD or PhD was elected president, would he be called Mr. President or Dr. President?

I googled it and found out that Woodrow Wilson had a PhD but was always referred to as Mr. President.

 

[steelyman]

I bet she'd be called Ms. President while in office. Dr. (whatever) thereafter.

 

[ERD50]

I had looked into this before as my Son earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and I was just curious. It seems that the most unbiased sources would say that anyone who earns a Doctorate degree of any kind has earned the use of the title of "Doctor". Of course, when/where the title should be used was a lot more subjective. But it seemed that it was generally accepted that in formal settings within that profession, say presenting a paper at a conference, any person holding a Doctorate degree in that field would be introduced as 'Doctor' so-and-so.

But when I read discussions of the topic on Medical Doctor oriented sites, there seemed to be a much stronger feeling that the term "Doctor" only applies to Medical Doctors. And that it be used in just about all settings. I do recall being at a wedding and sitting near an MD, and when another relative was introduced as "Doctor", the MD scowled, mumbled something about 'not a real Doctor, he's got a Doctorate in Psychology....'.

I know very little about PhD's, but I know there are MDs, there are PhDs, and there are what are called 'professional degrees', like my son's PharmD or a Physical Therapist (DPT).

I'd be tempted to reply to any MD that made a stink about this to a PhD - "Did you need to present a dissertation of original research, and defend that work to a panel of experts in the field, like this Doctor?". For me, that has always been a very impressive milestone for a PhD. AFAIK, that is not required of an MD or a 'professional degreed' Doctorate.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

I meant to add - I also tend to call my Dentist "Doctor" when he enters after the hygienist has done her thing. No big deal, he's a down-to-earth guy, not pretentious at all. But he is a Doctor of Dentistry, so why not?

-ERD50

 

[imoldernu]

I meant to add - I also tend to call my Dentist "Doctor" when he enters after the hygienist has done her thing. No big deal, he's a down-to-earth guy, not pretentious at all. But he is a Doctor of Dentistry, so why not?

-ERD50

Actually, sounds better than "Good afternoon, Dentist Jones."

 

[LoneAspen]

I've been around two people that preferred to be addressed as "doctor". One was a slimy little schemer at a former IT startup that did everything he could to make himself look more important. He even had them reprint his business cards to add "Ph.D." after his name. He was a worker bee, but he started referring to himself as an officer of the company (like "Chief so-and-so Officer") and even gave an interview with some IT journal as such. I was surprised he didn't get fired for that. He's probably slimed his way through life using similar tactics since then, I lost track of him.

The other was a chiropractor I used for several years. She insisted on being address as "Dr <her first name>" even in social settings. Now, as a chiropractor she was brilliant. But outside of her profession, she was insufferable. I remember going out to dinner one time with her and her (now ex) husband, and I distinctly remember she complained about, and had sent back to the kitchen, almost everything they brought out. It wasn't done enough, or was overdone, or etc etc etc. I almost suspect she was doing it to act like a big-shot, as there wasn't anything wrong with the food.

So, based on these experiences, I've come to the conclusion that anybody who insists on being addressed as "doctor" is an insecure little sh!t.

I address people as "doctor" as a sign of respect if I know they have a medical or doctoral degree, and if they're deserving of that respect. I would have continued to address that guy at the gold course as "mister" several more times just to piss him off.

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm - have a prof and a doc in the family tree - one discourages the 'Dr' among family and friends and the other is nicknamed 'professor John'.

My best was the Louisiana area where I once lived - 'where ya at Captain Mr Tony' to people who were neither Captains nor fishermen.

heh heh heh -

 

[rodi]

Titles are a funny thing. If someone wants me to call them Dr. I do. I have a lot of PhD friends and family - and they're all down to earth about it. My step mom is a Dr. Nurse. (PhD in nursing, taught nursing until this past fall.)

MD doctors may feel they have the only "right" to the title Dr. But earning a "Doctor"ate - earns PhD's the right to the title.

I've tried to stay old school with my kids - have them refer to adults as Mr/Mrs/Dr. as appropriate. So many of their friends' parents are Dr. SoAndSo (phd chemists, biologists, etc.). (I don't think kids should be on first name basis with elders unless invited to be.)

My husband is a registered Architect. In the state of California, you're not supposed to call yourself an Architect unless you are registered with the state licensing agency. That doesn't stop every software professional from calling themself an Architect. The only annoyance here is that it makes it harder to search job listings since most job ads with the title "architect" are for software jobs.

Titles are weird. But not worth stressing out over.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

It's much more interesting obscuring the MD issue and going incognito. If they want to know, they'll ask. Or it will come up later in a conversationally relevant context.

Defining yourself predominantly by your profession often doesn't end well in my observation. (Pardon my avatar - that was a nostalgia play)

 

[youbet]

Titles are weird.

I'd vote for that as the understatement of the day!

My own opinion is that titles (through degrees, certifications, election, birthright, whatever.........) are subject to time/historical perspective and circumstances.

Time - Hey, academics used to wear apparel indicating their status at all times, not just when wearing "the colors" at graduation ceremonies. But times change. Now the wearing of academic colors is generally ceremonial and rare. And that's how I use the title "Dr." In certain rare circumstances, where the title is mundane and key to the situation, I'll gladly use it. Otherwise, nah.........

Circumstances - A CPA giving a speech at the CPA society convention certainly needs to have his certification tied to his name. A young MD playing golf with an elderly retired MegaCorp CEO doesn't need to have the senior person refer to him as "Dr." At least not in my opinion.

Currently, the only people in my life I refer to as "Dr" are MD's (specialists) I see infrequently. My GP, Dentist and lawyer are all on a first name basis.

Come to think of it, I never hear lawyers (those with a JD) referred to by the title "Dr." Does anyone know why that is?

Perhaps in today's world, a bit of flexibility on everyone's part is in order. The guy OP wrote about needs to have more folks show him the moon when he squeals for his "Dr" title in unrelated circumstances.

Is this a case of ego or someone who can't let go his pre-retirement identity?

Specifically answering OP's question:

Yes and yes.

 

[rodi]

Come to think of it, I never hear lawyers (those with a JD) referred to by the title "Dr." Does anyone know why that is?

They get the oh-so-fancy "Esquire" after their name... I guess that's their specially honorific.

 

[Rosie]

I assume he was a medical Dr. He didn't look nerdy to me - no offense to Ph Ds in this forum. ( I know you are there, too proud to announce yourselves . )

None taken. I'd always be surprised when someone referred to me as Dr. [Rosie]. I worked in biotech and there were so many other Phoney Doktors* that it was no big deal to us.

(*I did a postdoc at a research hospital where MDs and PhDs intermingled, and the term Phoney Doktor was a running joke amongst us)

 

[ERD50]

I've been around two people that preferred to be addressed as "doctor". One was a slimy little schemer at a former IT startup that did everything he could to make himself look more important. He even had them reprint his business cards to add "Ph.D." after his name. ... .

I agree with the rest of your post, but I don't think it would be unusual to have a PhD on a business card, esp if it was relevant to the job. I really can't recall if the PhDs I occasionally worked with had it on their card or not, but I'm certain I never called any of them "Doctor" (unless maybe if we were kidding around), but I did give them a little extra respect for their achievement (assuming they weren't a**holes, and the ones I worked with were not).

-ERD50

 

[youbet]

They get the oh-so-fancy "Esquire" after their name... I guess that's their specially honorific.

Thanks. Interesting. Here they're referred to as either AC or CP. (Ambulance Chaser or Crooked Politician.) Lately here in Illinois, mostly as CP's! If you can't make it to CP, then you get along as best you can as an AC.

So, using a famous Illinois lawyer as an example, it would be Rod Blagojevich, Esq. Until now, I would have used Rod Blagojevich, CP. Who knew?

Gosh, titles are fun!

 

[Meadbh]

Some years ago, on a business visit to Mexico, I discovered that it is common for professionals to distribute business cards in personal situations. They often identify someone's profession, e.g. Miguel da Silva, ingeniero (engineer). This happened to a colleague of mine at a dance where a young gentleman was trying to chat her up. I guess he thought that being an inginiero would be a major selling point. He was kinda cute….

 

[haha]

Some years ago, on a business visit to Mexico, I discovered that it is common for professionals to distribute business cards in personal situations. They often identify someone's profession, e.g. Miguel da Silva, ingeniero (engineer). This happened to a colleague of mine at a dance where a young gentleman was trying to chat her up. I guess he thought that being an inginiero would be a major selling point. He was kinda cute….

Not much different from contemporary US. When I met a woman at a dance, I could be fairly certain that the next time I saw her she would know whatever was publically available about me, plus whatever she could pump out of her girlfriends.

Not only does it place a person as to probable income, lifestyle, and education, but there is at least some chance of avoiding axe-murderers
.

Ha