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Do you have a PhD/JD/MD?

doc?

  • Total voters
    138
BullDeacLaw said:
are there any PHD's on here who don't refer to themselves as doctors? I feel like the profs who don't are generally less dickish
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I only get addressed as Dr. in professional settings or when first meeting somebody. I love having a Ph.D. and I am damn proud of getting the degree but I prefer being called by my first name. I am in Academics and that tends to be the case more often than not. For some, only those close to them address them casually. And I would concur that my more dickish colleagues tend to want people to address them as Dr.

Eta: I teach at a graduate school so most of my students are doctoral candidates so more casual interactions are encouraged. I would say 50% or more of the undergrads I have taught refuse to call me by my first name no matter how many times I told the class to use it.
 
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myDeaconmyhand said:
Now lets say you and I go toe-to-toe on Bird Law and see who comes out the victor.
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I understand the reference, but this is funnier if you put in context w/ Chic having her PhD in birds.
 
BigTreeDeac said:
I only get addressed as Dr. in professional settings or when first meeting somebody. I love having a Ph.D. and I am damn proud of getting the degree but I prefer being called by my first name. I am in Academics and that tends to be the case more often than not. For some, only those close to them address them casually. And I would concur that my more dickish colleagues tend to want people to address them as Dr.

Eta: I teach at a graduate school so most of my students are doctoral candidates so more casual interactions are encouraged. I would say 50% or more of the undergrads I have taught refuse to call me by my first name no matter how many times I told the class to use it.
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I prefer undergraduates call me Dr. when they're in my class but I don't force them to do so. I found as a young professor, it was necessary to have a professional divide. A buddy of my let his students call him by his first name and he felt it was related to the lack of respect they showed him. When he changed schools, he decided to go by Dr. On that note, I have friends at church who are undergrads at my institution and they go either way or maybe just "Doc".

Grad students go either way typically depending on age or if they went to undergrad here. It's still weird for me to call Dr. Harris, "Kathy".
 
I'm curious what situations people have been in in which someone with a PhD demanded to be called Dr. I can't recall a situation like that and I'm around people with PhDs all the time.
 
PhDeac said:
I'm curious what situations people have been in in which someone with a PhD demanded to be called Dr. I can't recall a situation like that and I'm around people with PhDs all the time.
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The only situation I've been in that comes close is as an undergrad I once referred to my advisor's wife (also a professor in the department) as "your wife..." and he said back "You mean Dr. ______." I worked in his lab for 3 years so I felt comfortable enough around him to speak casually and always called him by his first name, but maybe he felt there should've been a professional divide when it came to his family since we never really interacted outside of work.
 
PhDeac said:
I prefer undergraduates call me Dr. when they're in my class but I don't force them to do so. I found as a young professor, it was necessary to have a professional divide. A buddy of my let his students call him by his first name and he felt it was related to the lack of respect they showed him. When he changed schools, he decided to go by Dr. On that note, I have friends at church who are undergrads at my institution and they go either way or maybe just "Doc".

Grad students go either way typically depending on age or if they went to undergrad here. It's still weird for me to call Dr. Harris, "Kathy".
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Interesting. Maybe I am just lucky to have not run into respect issues. Was it mainly a lack of respect problem in intro courses with younger students? I only teach upper level medically-related electives so I get Jrs and Srs either looking to go to med school or grad school. Neither set of students wants to get on the bad side of a potential research mentor/somebody that may have sway with med school admissions.
 
KickballDeac said:
The only situation I've been in that comes close is as an undergrad I once referred to my advisor's wife (also a professor in the department) as "your wife..." and he said back "You mean Dr. ______." I worked in his lab for 3 years so I felt comfortable enough around him to speak casually and always called him by his first name, but maybe he felt there should've been a professional divide when it came to his family since we never really interacted outside of work.
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Funny side note. When I am in a casual setting and somebody calls me Dr. _____ I say "Dr. ______ is my wife, you can call me John". To answer the question, I have not run across an example were somebody vehemently demanded he/she be called Dr. but I have colleagues that stress this point to their employees (especially those without/not pursuing a Ph.D.). As in a few never let them use their first name no matter the setting or length of their relationship.

Eta: half of those individuals (at least) also have M.D.s
 
PhDeac said:
I'm curious what situations people have been in in which someone with a PhD demanded to be called Dr. I can't recall a situation like that and I'm around people with PhDs all the time.
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I know two PhD's who insist on being called Dr. by anyone who doesn't know them personally...all settings, all the time. Call them Mr. or Ms. and they will correct you. Both of them have PhD's in education. One has Dr. on his business card.

Yes, he is a major dick.
 
WFU71 said:
I know two PhD's who insist on being called Dr. by anyone who doesn't know them personally...all settings, all the time. Call them Mr. or Ms. and they will correct you. Both of them have PhD's in education. One has Dr. on his business card.

Yes, he is a major dick.
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the less dick-ish way to do that would be John Smith, PhD ? (i'm asking)
that seems less pretentious to me.


Tangent - I just have a masters (lol, "just have a masters"... #FWP) and I think it's really silly when people use the abbreviation after their name (Jane Doe, MPA). On a resume, sure, but on work emails in auto sigs... it's pretty dumb.
 
I'll add that as a current grad student I almost always address my professors as Dr. in emails, but usually by their first names when speaking in person. When referring to one that isn't present it depends on how well I feel I know him or her. Or to be safe I'll say first and last name, which seems to be an intermediate level of formality (below Dr. but above first name).
 
KickballDeac said:
I'll add that as a current grad student I almost always address my professors as Dr. in emails, but usually by their first names when speaking in person. When referring to one that isn't present it depends on how well I feel I know him or her. Or to be safe I'll say first and last name, which seems to be an intermediate level of formality (below Dr. but above first name).
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What are you studying? Thinking about it, most of my emails are addressed as Dr. but most people do not call me that in person. I normally pay no attention to how my email is addressed, unless it says something like "Most Esteemed Professor Dr. ______", in which case I know I have likely received an application for a position in my lab.
 
It gets awkward sometimes sending emails to professors (college to some degree, maybe moreso now) because while most aren't doctors, some of them have doctorates in either education or sociology so I have no idea what to say in them and usually just go with "Dr." unless I'm sure they don't want to go by it.
 
BigTreeDeac said:
What are you studying? Thinking about it, most of my emails are addressed as Dr. but most people do not call me that in person. I normally pay no attention to how my email is addressed, unless it says something like "Most Esteemed Professor Dr. ______", in which case I know I have likely received an application for a position in my lab.
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Check rep.

A WSSU student from a class I taught emailed her homework assignment and addressed me as Professor _____. That felt a little weird! However, I'll admit to enjoying emails from vendors or societies that address me as Dr., even though it's most likely the automated default greeting. One can dream.
 
I'm with Ph, I have students call me Dr. But my colleagues all call me by my first name. I am a young female biologist, without the title I definitely get less respect and students try to walk all over me. The cops on campus call me Doc but that's really it. Oh and the staff at our club call me Dr. but only because when I asked them to call me by my first name they said thy weren't allowed. And yes, lbe is right, I destroy some bird law.
 
I accidentally put Mr. and Mrs. [Maiden name] on our wedding invitations instead of Dr. & Mrs. My dad (PhD) never noticed (or never said anything about it, at least) but I felt bad about it.

I called all of my professors in undergrad Dr. ____. I stayed at Wake for grad school and had most of the same professors so I kept calling them that but the other people in my program called them by first name.
 
Not sure i could ever call Dr. Carmichael anything else. Way too much respect and admiration.
 
awakeandready said:
I accidentally put Mr. and Mrs. [Maiden name] on our wedding invitations instead of Dr. & Mrs. My dad (PhD) never noticed (or never said anything about it, at least) but I felt bad about it.

I called all of my professors in undergrad Dr. ____. I stayed at Wake for grad school and had most of the same professors so I kept calling them that but the other people in my program called them by first name.
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I had a friend in grad school that was marrying an M.D. in a destination wedding in Las Vegas. He put Dr. and Dr. _____ on the invitations because he felt ashamed he did not have his doctorate (took another 2.5 years). Needless to say he invited nobody from the school except me.
 
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