Not all people with medical degrees should be worshipped as idols

[antilera]

While I'm writing about frustration, let me tell you about this postdoc in my lab who has a medical degree. Now, I do know quite a few medical students and the majority of them are some of the best people I know, but there are some who I've encountered who make me realize that a doctor is merely a profession, not a breed of angels. You get jerks

Comments

[antilera]

My other coworker yelled at him to shut up twice, to which he got all pissy and gave us "the silent treatment." Which was just fine by us. It only lasted two weeks.

...I have contemplated stabbing him with my pipetman...

[PS. I like your icon!]

[piroko]

You know, I'm so glad I'm out of academia world since even in CS you had people that had nothing else going in their life other than "I'm a MS/PhD student!" Soooo judgmental. And this was in UCR! Not saying it's a bad school (as I enjoyed my time there, and has more pedigree and value than people commonly think), but this ain't no Harvard either! I'd hate to think what petty comparisons happen in brand name schools.

I think most people if they put their hard work into it, can get into a school and get pieces of paper. It's just a piece of paper, "fake" merit. But personality is something you can't earn just sit in a class and take a test to pass to be cool.

There are jerks in every profession, level, place, community... but there are great people too. I guess my belief in the good in people coupled with a filtering mechanism helps me get through the day. :D

Hold up a sec.

[averagesmartguy]

I take issue with your calling them "just" pieces of paper and "'fake' merit". To those of us in such programs, and to future employers, they are more than that. They're proof of knowledge/skill sets. Please don't so flippantly disregard these facts. It's also really disrespectful to those of us busting our asses in our respective programs.

That said, I think you just explained yourself exactly why such people get so attached to them - precisely because it's the focus of their lives. Which of course doesn't give license to be judgmental by any means, but it does explain why many people in their programs are so caught up in them. Similarly, it's bad form to piss on any large part of someone's life, regardless of what it is, if they place huge emphasis and pride in it.

(This from someone who is somewhat grudgingly enrolled in a Masters Program at a fairly prestigious university.)

Re: Hold up a sec.

[piroko]

I'm not disregarding the merit in going through a tough program, by any means.

However, what I do have a problem with are people that are so self-absorbed that think they are some higher tier of person just because they have a MS/PHD in something.

That's fine if a MS/PHD is the focus of your life. This is no different than maybe, some sort of artisan painter that has art and paintings the focus of their life. But just because you are some expert painter, or a doctor, does it make you "better" than someone else.

I respect people that have endured long and arduous programs, and have something to contribute to society from it. But I don't respect people that use their pedigrees to wave it in front of others faces like they are in some higher caste.

Re: Hold up a sec.

[antilera]

I agree with piroko's perspective, but thank you AverageSmartGuy for bringing up a perspective that made me realize that I should stop using blanket statements. It does add balance