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Someone commented on the site about this. The difference between academics and business is that "Dr." and "Prof." are appointed titles, while CEO is self-given
by cj 17y ago
Someone commented on the site about this.
The difference between academics and business is that "Dr." and "Prof." are appointed titles, while CEO is self-given without having to meet any prerequisites or requirements.
- amichail 17y agoBut the point is that the use of any title looks bad. It's better to impress with achievements than titles.
- unalone 17y agoEvery friend of mine training to be a doctor resents the implication that becoming a doctor isn't an achievement. They're sacrificing more for their title than most entrepreneurs sacrifice for theirs.
- amichail 17y agoIt's different for academics because getting a PhD is just the beginning. A top academic would probably not consider it the most important achievement of his/her career. A top academic is well known and everyone will automatically assume that he/she has a PhD and a respectable position at his/her university, so mentioning the title is redundant.
- yummyfajitas 17y agoIn general, when you find an academic type without a PhD, it's even more impressive. Read about Google Eliezer Yudkowsky, and tell me you aren't even more impressed when you find out his educational background.
- zackattack 17y agoRead about Google Eliezer Yudkowsky Thanks for making me hunt, asshole. Anyway, he didn't go to high school and is an "autodidact."
- barry-cotter 17y agoTruly, my heart bleeds for the M.D. aspirants of the world. Point taken for real doctorates though.
- tel 17y agoThe impression I've gotten from the PhDs in my dept. is that the title is something they expect and appreciate as a nod to their years of work, but, by the same token, anyone you might compare with them based on merit probably is also a Dr making it useless to brag. Anyone can technically become a CEO for $89. It only has meaning when attached the success of companies.
- mlLK 17y ago/nods These self-appointed titles formulated as acronyms, C[insert domain]O, is the quintessential cue that capitalists are self-important militarists. Of course I mean militarists only in the lightest (and perhaps hyperbolic) terms for how a large corporation organizes their positions (occupations) of power internally and behave or affect some group(s) of society. Internally, most notable positions of power are denoted by their domain of command then rank (or title), highest obviously being an 'officer.' Externally the company as a whole will only act on its interests while engaging a so-called 'threat' in a 'fight or flight' fashion. I often forget how young capitalism really is, and while this characteristic is certainly less apparent in smaller organizations it is the 'de facto' operative standard in how larger corporations conduct their-self in the market.
- bravura 17y agoMiss Manners writes that in academia, Ph.D.s are like noses. You only notice if someone doesn't have one.
- yummyfajitas 17y agoThis might not be true in the humanities. I've had quite a few students repeat the idea that they must call be "Dr.", since the title "Professor" is reserved for lowly grad students. They tend to hear this from literature professors, so non-science fields might have different customs.
- scott_s 17y agoIf someone is calling grad students "Professor," then they are abusing the term. A grad student who is teaching is an instructor. Something that I didn't appreciate until I was in grad school was that not all professors are even "Professor." Becoming a full professor is a big deal. An "Assistant Professor" is generally someone who has a tenure-track position, but does not have tenure yet. "Associate Professor" is for someone who has tenure. "Professor" is for someone who has tenure, and has contributed enough to the school through research and teaching to earn being a full professor.
- yummyfajitas 17y agoThe person teaching the class can be legitimately called "professor". It signifies their position as "that guy teaching the class", not their academic rank. Similarly, "that guy commanding the ship" is called "captain" regardless of actual rank [1].
- scott_s 17y agoI just checked the dictionary and Wikipedia. While both allow for "that guy teaching the class" to be considered a professor, that doesn't seem to be the standard custom. Both stressed the formality of the title, which is the custom I'm familiar with.