Thinking Out Loud: Still a Second Class Citizen For years, I was ashamed to only have an Associates Degree in general education from Los Angeles Valley College. I held my head in shame and dared not raise my eyes. I sought a higher degree and, thus, higher esteem by pursuing a Bachelors Degree from International College, only to find, after graduation, still more shame because others have masters degrees and I don't! This vicious cycle continues! So now, I'm pursuing a Masters Degree from the University of South Florida. If I complete the requirements for this degree, will I hold my head in shame because I don't have a doctorate? (Yes, I'm concerned that this will be the case, thus propelling me onwards and higher into the world of respectable academia. With a doctorate, I could hold my head up high, right? Mmmmm, then comes the socialite game of, "What school did you graduate from? Geeze, will this vicious cycle ever stop?
Sounds like you still are looking for the school (currently being discussed in another thread in the main forum) whose degrees give you "the admiration of all."
Hey, and even if you get a doctorate from Harvard, by then there will probably be the new postdoctoral degree that has been under discussion, and the shame will continue because you don't have a Chancellorate. Fewer than one percent of people worldwide have a Bachelor's degree. Thank goodness most of them aren't Eeyore-ing around. Those without degrees include Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Abe Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt, Steve Jobs, Harry Truman, Michael Dell, Maxwell Zeryck, and other fine folk.
"If I live long enough, I can complete the requirements for a Chancellorate from the nursing home." Indeed. I suggest, in Bears' Guide that at least people with Chancellorates won't have to worry about finding jobs, because they'll be on Social Security by the time they're done.
And how, prithee, does one address the possessor of such a degree? What does the regalia look like? (One envisions a mortar board with wings to indicate loftly ascension, or perhaps chains and weights [ala Marley} in place of cords, to keep the recipient firmly planted on the ground.) I (*sniffle*) feel so common.
"Hey, you. Yeah, the old guy with the insurmountable student loans!" Geez, you'd have to join the Peace Corps for the rest of your life to get that much student loan debt waived. Rich Douglas
