I know that this is going to sound really bad and some of the people onhere are going to skin me alive for saying this. However when I hearstories in the media about people using fake degrees and getting thishigh paying positions with fake degrees, well I worked so hard for my real degrees it kind of makes me wonder at times if looking from a financial point of view I did the smart thing. Although I have no intentions of getting a fake degree, I find this type of media stories very frustrating sometimes.
If a holder of a fake degree is found out, many times they then find themselves unemployable even for positions that would not require a degree, just because of the credibility issue.
Living in fear of being found out, along with being uneducated to boot makes it a pretty unattractive alternative to me. Degrees aren't just about the money. They're also about being educated so you're not just another ignorant fool.
I have some doubts about the premise. Do people really get high paying positions with fake degrees? If so, how? On the bachelors level, I can kind of see it. There are many jobs (rarely high paying) where a degree is just a generic part of the job specs. I guess that it's meant to insure that candidates are literate and can perform complex tasks. But I question whether a fake degree can really land anyone a job on the advanced degree level. And for some reason known best to their psychiatrists, everyone who chases fake degees wants a Ph.D. Most phony doctorates are simply vanity degrees. People want recognition from other people, so they lust after titles. "Queen of England" is already taken, so they have to settle for "Doctor". It's cool, kinda like "Lord". It's a way for people to reward themselves, some tangible way to assert that their life's experiences have really been worth something, and not just a series of meaningless events. A subset of vanity degrees that's often seen among professional academics are the insiders. These are people who are already teaching because of a masters degree, but who want a doctorate like their colleagues so that they can have a tail too, just like the other foxes. And I think that there are a few cases where pressure to get a fake degree comes from the institution itself. Schools rise in the rankings if a greater proporton of their faculty have terminal degrees. So I imagine that pressure is often applied to instructors with masters degrees to get doctorates. It doesn't really matter where, just get one. Again, the emphasis is on the title, no on the work that it represents. But ultimately, I don't think that very many people with phony doctorates are hired on the basis of the degree. I've seen recruiting at San Francisco State, and people flew in from all over the country to interview. They delivered tryout lectures that served as a cool departmental lecture series for us students. The search committee knew all about where each of them had studied and with whom. And I've seen hiring in a Silicon Valley biotech firm that was seeking Ph.D. level researchers. Accreditation never came up in the interview, mainly because the interviewers were scientists who were already familiar with the candidates' departments and publications. The company had some serious technical hurdles in bringing a proposed new cancer drug to market. While it worked spectacularly at killing cancer cells in-vitro, there were problems ranging from manufacturing scale-up to delivering the product to cancer cells and avoiding its being denatured by other body compounds in-vivo. Plus all the regulatory hurdles and human trials down the line. (They were using animals.) Interviews were conducted at a high technical level (without giving away trade secrets), to see where the candidate's thinking was at on various issues that their research staff had identified and whether the candidate had anything to contribute to the company's effort. I guess that my point is that when hiring really depends on a degree, and when the employer is requiring a degree because they need the expertise that it represents, it's going to be pretty hard to fake. The recruitors are going to be paying very close attention indeed. Fake degrees work best in situations when a degree isn't really necessary, when recruitors don't really care a whole lot and never bother to investigate.
i agree with dayson 110% I would put it this way: a degree mill diploma is like... a) when you're not (yet) of drinking age and get a fake ID to get drunk "legally" in the open. A joke can be stretched only sofar: a puny 12yo would fool nobody, right? A buff 15 or 16 years old might. b) when you get these fancy fake IDS like photographer ID; press reporter ID etc with the aim of laying the sleazy bimbo. She's the kind whose opinion you can change by buying her a beer anyway. If you met a real celebrity, i doubt you would pose as a journalist ( who pays royalties on the interview? I see a gigantic lawsuit coming ). c) nobility titles. Nowadays they say little to nothing about the holder's net worth. It may be useful to remark this issue used to be common concern even in the XVII century ( the dérogeance question ). However they sound better than mister or even professor, hence some people may find them useful. Hence they might (very conditional) be of use in short lived situations when the benefit is quickly reaped ( ex laying the bimbo; getting drunk; impressing guests at one party, whom we're never going to meet again; having a client sign an agreement, etc ). if the comedy has to be put up with over a long or indefinite period... i think they're worthless & even dangerous. You can't work 20 years in a company where your position is based upon a blatant lie needing daily reharsal. On the bachelors level, I can kind of see it. There are many jobs (rarely high paying) where a degree is just a generic part of the job specs. I guess that it's meant to insure that candidates are literate and can perform complex tasks. I guess that my point is that when hiring really depends on a degree, and when the employer is requiring a degree because they need the expertise that it represents, it's going to be pretty hard to fake. The recruitors are going to be paying very close attention indeed.
