What do you think of those with PhD?

[whyyyyyisitmonddayy]

Particularly those in non-stem fields. Just curious!

I have a PhD and I’m most definitely not from a privileged background. I grew up in one of the most deprived areas in the country and was the first (still only) person in my family to go to university.

Most PhD’s are funded in some way and lots of us worked while studying.

What an odd assumption!

What?

Only 1% of the population have a PhD.

@TheFilliesWillRiseAgain 's SIL got a doctorate?

You need to check your unconscious bias! I’m female and my DS was 2 when I started my PhD!

😂

That's not unconscious bias at all, it's an understanding of the extra load most mothers face in a sexist society - I'm not saying it's right.

2 of my friends have a PhD, one in a STEM subject, one in a non STEM subject. I know how hard they worked to complete them alongside having children and working so I admire them. They’re my friends though so obviously I know them well. I don’t really think anything specific about anyone else who has a PhD, but I presume they worked incredibly hard to complete it. It’s an achievement, one I wouldn’t have had the discipline for!

Ah I suppose I'm thinking of people doing their phd while also working - the ones I've known have been teachers doing it part time alongside work.

I don't think about them at all, they are just people, like the rest of us. It takes a lot to impress me. 😃

The one person I do actually know who has a PhD is an absolute dick (and not particularly bright about some matters)!

Avoiding getting a proper job ;)

I did mine while working full time.
If you automatically think male or childless woman when you see PhD then that is absolutely your unconscious biases being articulated.
Those biases are, of course, influenced by society/culture/experiences but they are still biases!

Haven't RTWT but have read the first two pages or so.

I have a non STEM PhD, completed part time, paid for it myself, did it alongside work as a single parent. It was an absolute slog at times.

Dr. - definitely. I am considered an expert in my field on a national level, I worked for it and I use it.

I couldn't imagine explaining why I wouldn't use my hard earned title to my kids tbh.

From about 2015 universities became so obsessed with identity politics that it impacted funding for research projects on a scale that we hadn't seen before.

As an example - Sally Hines is one of the UK's most funded academics. And she's a total men can get pregnant crank

I do have a PhD, in Science.
At first glance it is unlikely you spot a difference between a PhD and a graduate.
But I do know how much work and dedication it takes, how you need to cope with pressures and failures and challenges and work dynamics on the daily. It is a long term goal, which outcome only depends on how hard to persue it. I do think of other PhDs that I can rely on their discipline and hard work, bar a few exceptions here and there.

Don’t really think much about it just good for them. It’s not something I’m interested in myself but I can appreciate it’s a lot of work even in an area you’ve chosen/ enjoy. STEM or no STEM doesn’t change how I think about it.

Why do you ask?

That doesn’t devalue PhDs though.

My PhD is in education. The work that has followed my PhD has helped and supported thousands of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Like almost all of my colleagues my doctorate was funded by my university directly and was not paid for by research grants or external funding.

Why does it depend on the university?

I know some people think post-92 universities hand out undergraduate degrees to anyone that wanders past, but it’s not true and it’s certainly not any ‘easier’ to get a PhD from York St John’s than it is from University of York.

They are intelligent and capable of focussed hard work over a long period of time. Usually able to work and think independently (supervision standards vary a lot).

Importantly these days, they should understand how knowledge building works, how opinions can be influenced by single-issue thinkers driven by their obsessions, that ideas change over time but basic measurable facts don't, that sizes of data sets are relevant. To be very wary of research funded by big businesses with things to sell. To be wary of either over-simplified OR over-complicated writing. A PhD should be a bullshit detector.

Increasingly, I think history is the most important subject, though my PhD (earned way back in the 20th C) was in a slightly more scientific discipline.

I don't usually use any title - I'm Mary Murphy not Ms Murphy - but having the option of being Dr M Murphy is handy when dealing with a misogynist world.

Name changed to protect anonymity.

I think they've worked hard and must have been dedicated and disciplined. I wish I could have done the same.

In what way do you consider it vastly different?

As far as I know, no PhD has yet cured cancer, during or since their PhD. You could find may ‘media’ PhDs who have contributed greatly to the creative industries, benefitting a key sector of our economy and bringing people a lot of pleasure.

For me, the most horrific example of a 'bad' PhD award was Naomi Wolfe's, from Oxford. Being an establishment insider at a university that has been around for a long time should not exempt people from normal academic standards.

Nothing. What a bizarre question!

I think it's noble and great we can expand human knowledge off the back of their research. However in today's world, I often think....why? To dedicate many years for something that doesn't pay off financially (in most cases) would be a tough pill to swallow for me.

Note that I wouldn't feel this way if the COL wasn't through the roof and it wasn't such a dog eat dog world. Sigh.

DD wants to pursue a PhD. She is passionate about an incredibly niche and totally pointless historical religious subject matter.

Thing is.... Even jn an "non-useful" area like history, it seems all the better jobs in history and culture need PhD's. You only have to look at all the current crop of media presenters and authors on history related subjects, all are PhD's.