AIBU - use of ‘Dr’ title - is this normal?!

[Cheesecake45]

Just not sure if I need to get with the times or not - is it normal to go by the title ‘Dr’ simply for having a PhD, if you aren’t in the medical profession? I’m talking one of the easiest PhDs to get (comparatively speaking), nothing vaguely linked to medicine.

AIBU??
YES = this is totally normal get over yourself
NO = wouldn’t be caught dead calling myself a doctor unless I could be assistance in a medical emergency!

YANBU! I know someone who's done this. Extremely cringey

I don't think it's unusual at all.

No, I wouldn’t, sounds pretentious if you’re not a medical doctor.

And why does your electricity provider or other companies need to know you have a PHD?

completely normal - that is the whole point of a PhD. You are not paid in money for the research you do, you are paid with a title - and it is bloody well hard earnt!

I'm a vet and I don't even call myself Dr even though I can, YANBU

I go by Dr! Took me 5 years to get a PhD and my son 5 years to get a medical degree. We both earned it

LOL at an easy PhD. If I had one of those bad boys I’d be plastering it over every piece of correspondence.

;-)

Completely normal. I work in HE, having a PhD is standard and none of them are
”easy”.
It’s more unusual to use Mr or Ms, Prof and Dr are the norm.

They’re not really doctors though. No one thinks of PHD holders as doctors.

I often opt for "Lady" or "Professor" on those lists. Even though I'm neither.

To be fair I don’t think any PhD is “easy” but equally I do think that in a work scenario I it’s fair to use Dr to show your level of education but in everyday life… it’s a bit wanker-y

Well, why do they 'need to know' if you are a Mrs, Ms, Mr etc?

It isn't about needing to know, it's about your preferred style of address. If you're entitled to be addressed as Dr. and you want to be, why ever shouldn't you use it?

Of course they do! What a weird thing to say.

Im an medical doctor and dont call myself doctor....

Probably because as a surgeon we drop the title anyway, but also because i have enough drama at work without inviting it upon myself outside of work.

I don't have either but I wouldn't think it was cringey. I know someone who does specifically because they are a woman who has a PhD in a field dominated by men.

Normal to me. Prefer it to Ms and use it daily at work where it would be weird not to use it

Wtf. No it's not cringey. They've earnt it. This is why women get put off using the titles so then it looks like there aren't many women PHDs but they wall amongst us

Everybody I know with a PHD worked really bloody hard for it.

YABU. A PHD is a tough thing to get so why wouldn't you use the title it comes with?

Not all Doctors are medical!

Completely normal.

They’re not really doctors though. No one thinks of PHD holders as doctors.

Of course they're really Drs - just not medical ones.

I would go by Dr if I had a phd.

I have a phd - and it certainly was not an easy one to get! So I have the title Doctor.

However I only use it in professional settings, and not in day to day life. That’s not because “I wouldn’t be seen dead” using it, but because it’s not relevant. In professional circles I will absolutely use it because I earned it, and everyone else there will either have the same title or understand why I’m using it. In everyday life it’s not necessary.

Your post seems to imply that there’s something cringeworthy about using a title that has been earned, and I disagree with that.

lol PhD actually means you are a Dr. However not all medical doctors have earned the academic title of doctor, it’s more out of respect

Interested to know what the easiest PHD is