5 ms·

I agree it sounds awful, but I agree that you are correct. Not everyone who wants a PhD can just get one. It is damn hard work. You devote your ENTIRE CAREER an

by eqdw 16y ago

I agree it sounds awful, but I agree that you are correct. Not everyone who wants a PhD can just get one. It is damn hard work. You devote your ENTIRE CAREER and in some cases life, to your Ph.D. It's not fair to the others who are working hard if you are just given one.

seanc 16y ago
I don't have a PhD but I do have a black belt, which shares some characteristics. Specifically, I see people from time to time who I feel perhaps did not work as hard for their rank as I did for mine. The lesson I've learned in the end is don't trust credentials too much. If you want to find out what kind of martial artist someone is, don't look at the belt, look at how they train. I would imagine the same can be said for a PhD. Don't look at the degree, read the research!
- random42 16y ago
  Its not feasible to "test" knowledge always. Many degrees, are the qualification to practice a particular profession. Think about how bad it would be, if medical degree holders do not know how to treat people, pilot license holder do not know how to fly airplanes or civil engineer degree holder not knowing what alleviation is safe for the suspension bridge. The only way patients/flying authorities/ government authorities etc. would know if a doctor/pilot/engineer is qualified to carryout the assigned task, if the degree actually reflect a reasonable level of proficiency in the particular field.
  - seanc 16y ago
    I do agree that the certification process for those important professions plays an important part in ensuring public safety. I offered my comment as a path to feeling a bit better about seeing other people who share one's credentials without, it seems, achieving quite the same standard. I would also offer however, that even those professions do not completely trust the degree. Each one of those professions has a number of oversight and regulation bodies which are inconstant contact with the the practitioners. Specifically: - Malpractice insurers who specify covered and non-covered activities - Professional colleges which review practitioners regularly - the FAA And so forth.
    - pyre 16y ago
      > - Malpractice insurers who specify covered and > non-covered activities Ensuring that someone (at least on a basic level) knows their field does not ensure how they will act ones they are certified.

by eqdw 16y ago

seanc 16y ago

I don't have a PhD but I do have a black belt, which shares some characteristics. Specifically, I see people from time to time who I feel perhaps did not work as hard for their rank as I did for mine. The lesson I've learned in the end is don't trust credentials too much. If you want to find out what kind of martial artist someone is, don't look at the belt, look at how they train. I would imagine the same can be said for a PhD. Don't look at the degree, read the research!

random42 16y ago
Its not feasible to "test" knowledge always. Many degrees, are the qualification to practice a particular profession. Think about how bad it would be, if medical degree holders do not know how to treat people, pilot license holder do not know how to fly airplanes or civil engineer degree holder not knowing what alleviation is safe for the suspension bridge. The only way patients/flying authorities/ government authorities etc. would know if a doctor/pilot/engineer is qualified to carryout the assigned task, if the degree actually reflect a reasonable level of proficiency in the particular field.
- seanc 16y ago
  I do agree that the certification process for those important professions plays an important part in ensuring public safety. I offered my comment as a path to feeling a bit better about seeing other people who share one's credentials without, it seems, achieving quite the same standard. I would also offer however, that even those professions do not completely trust the degree. Each one of those professions has a number of oversight and regulation bodies which are inconstant contact with the the practitioners. Specifically: - Malpractice insurers who specify covered and non-covered activities - Professional colleges which review practitioners regularly - the FAA And so forth.
  - pyre 16y ago
    > - Malpractice insurers who specify covered and > non-covered activities Ensuring that someone (at least on a basic level) knows their field does not ensure how they will act ones they are certified.