Why education is almost worth it
I recently moved back to the UK from the USA, and since it was going to cost me a small fortune to transfer all my money from the US account to the UK account, decided just to come home and withdraw cash to pay into my UK account. It worked out cheaper in the long run, but did involve me taking out £250 a day, and going into the branch to pay it in.

Now, when I moved back, I was staying with my fiance, who at the time, lived in a disgusting armpit of a town called West Drayton. I saw many many lovely folk there, including the morbidly obese woman vomiting on the steps of Morrisons at 10 am, and the piss-soaked chav buying baby food, cigarettes, and a bottle of vodka in Tesco one morning. Not a nice place.

So on the first day of my plan to pay money in, I went to the bank, withdrew my money, joined the queue of inbred scumbags, and eventually got to the counter. the woman behind the counter took my cash, holding it as if it was diseased, and with a look of immense disdain on her face, paid it into my account.
This happened again the following day. And the next. On the 4th day, she actually looked at my card, and did the most delightful double take.

'Are you the holder of this card?' she said.
'Um, yes' I replied (wanting to add that it would be a bit fucking odd to pay £1000 into someone else's account over 4 days, wouldn't it, and more to the point, how did it take her 4 days to look at the card?)
'Oh, well, 'Dr'. VitaminC, is there anything else I can do to help you today? Would you like to buy some insurance? Or discuss a free overdraft facility?' she gushed.

And from that day on, every time I used the bank there, she almost fell over herself to help me. All because I spent 4 years of my life playing in a lab, and happened to have a title other than 'Miss' as a result. It pisses me off a bit, since my fiance, who earns double what I do, but just happens to have a foreign sounding name, is treated like shit everywhere he goes.

However, I have since insisted on having 'Dr' on every bill, account, card, whatever, in my name, and have received pretty good customer service as a result. It's very tempting to change my title to 'Lady' sometime in the future, and see what happens then.
( ascorbate, Fri 17 Jul 2009, 16:53, 5 replies)

What a great idea!
I want to change my name now.

Admittedly, my job title has the word 'Deputy' and I am in judicial enforcement. That has led to loads of people assuming I have powers far greater than my job actually allows.
( flirting with badgers What? It sounded good at the time., Fri 17 Jul 2009, 17:46, closed)

I do that too
Even on my passport. Don't know if it ever makes any difference, but I might as well have something to show for my 4 extra years at university.

And my girlfriend earns more than me too.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Fri 17 Jul 2009, 18:24, closed)

I don't know...
I'd be worried that people would assume I'm an arrogant cunt for insisting on having "Dr" plastered on everything, and treat me worse as a result (possibly in a subtle, behind-my-back way, rather than to my face).

Then again, I'm at least two years away from actually having to make that decision, if I ever finish the PhD at all that is...
(julius, Wed 22 Jul 2009, 18:44, closed)

Me too
My credit card and my mortgage have Dr on them.

Never realised that that was what a PhD was for till I needed to borrow money.
( chthonic, Fri 17 Jul 2009, 23:31, closed)

It's also good
for those comedic moments when you're in a theatre/cinema or on an aircraft, and somebody faints.

"Is there a doctor in the house?" cry the staff as they rush to the attention of the afflicted.

"Why yes," you call back, "but I don't see how my research into far-infrared atmospheric spectroscopy is going to be of much help to this fellow who appears to have had a stroke and, by the smell of it, a sudden onset of severe dystentery!"
(LongJohnBaldry, Mon 20 Jul 2009, 12:39, closed)