One thing that really gets me heated up is people who are loose with their facts. My LinkedIn profile states “PhD Student”. . . . Not “Candidate” (that doesn’t come till after my proposal is accepted), and not “PhD” . . .certainly not. Not until I’ve defended. Why? Cause I’m not loose with my facts.
Why am I bringing this up?
A while back a resume ended up on my desk. The education section said, EdD. An EdD is basically a PhD without the focus on “research” . . . It’s more for educational admins and teachers. I thought about going this route, I had the opportunity, in-fact back when I had to make the choice, I was worried that I might not have the chops to be a “researcher.” I’ve since found that I am a quite apt researcher.
Regardless, this lady had written EdD on her resume. I talked to her and realized quite quickly that she had only taken one or two classes toward her EdD. Keep in mind, coursework alone is 60-something hours. Then you have to write a dissertation. Writing EdD without having completed 60 hours of classes and writing a freaking novel, well . . . That’s a bit of a stretch.
I was a bit livid. Not very self-authored right? Someone who is self-authored wouldn’t mind that, would they? They’d see it, understand it, and keep on moving. Hell, the lady fessed up when she realized I knew what I was talking about. She wasn’t “lying” per se. She was just stretching the facts for her resume.
It just happened again. I reached out to a classmate I met two or so years ago. She and I both have Dr. Kang as our major professor and I thought she could give me some good insight on how to focus my presentation for my proposal meeting. I looked at her LinkedIn and it says “PhD.” I was expecting it to say “PhD Candidate” since she was a year ahead of me, but based on what the LinkedIn stated, she had finished. Good for her right?
Nope.
She wrote the other day to say that she was still just finishing her coursework! Hell! I’m further along than she is! And yet she has “PhD” on her LinkedIn.
The self-authored Dick says, “Meh, who really cares. People can be crazy. We all stretch the truth, right?”
The Ranger Sergeant Hannah however says, “No way!” From a military perspective, it’s basically stolen valor. Huge no-no. What’s funny, it’s so easy to spot these posers. It is revealed so quickly with just a question or two. Within five questions, a maximum of five, usually it takes less than two, someone who was in the Rangers can determine if the other person he is speaking to was ever Spec Ops or Special Forces. It’s that fast and that easy to spot.
Thinking back on it, I guess it’s that easy to tell with PhD’s too.
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