How many people have PhD's?

Let's face it, many college grads look down on people who never attended college or have "fake degrees." Do those same people get upset when MBAs, JDs, MDs and PhDs look down on them? Or do they not realize that they're also looked down upon?

• Answer:

  I have been privy to how people treat others in every scenario you've listed. During undergrad, I found almost none of my peers felt superior to their friends who decided not to attend any form of further education. What I did find was people who, momentarily at least, felt superior based on the school they attended. These beliefs allayed shortly after graduation, however. I am currently in graduate school at a highly respected institution and I see a very similar trend: nobody here looks down upon those who did not further their education by going to graduate school, however many of my peers do scorn (I hope this is temporary, as well) people who are going to graduate school at an 'inferior' university. Another funky think that I have noticed, which I think gets the closest to illustrating your point, is that there is a mock hierarchy between graduate programs such that: JDs look down upon MBAs, MDs look down upon JDs, and PhDs look down upon MDs. I feel a lot of this sentiment is very tame, though, and often made in jest. Surely each group understands the commitment associated with each level, so the mockery is lighthearted at worst.