Pretentious? What say y'all?

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Boat yards are great levelers in American society. You really never who that is laying under a boat with a sander, covered in dust.
 
One of a recent defeated school board members was a former school nurse. EVERTHING she put out for elections, or even just personal stuff on Facebook, was sighed as RN. I never saw any connection between the school board and being an RN.

Similarly a candidate for the local town council has signs campaign signs with RN prominently shown. Like it’s some big advantage to be a nurse when running for government. Nursing is a hard technical job but I don’t see the connection. It just seems like bluster.
 
Early on in my life I participated in skydiving. We all shared in the sport. There were bricklayers, steelworkers, cops, lawyers, doctors, a millionaire's son and more. We didn’t care. We were just all skydivers.
 
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IMHO:
If it’s in a professional atmosphere or on a professional communication then the title should be used.
In an informal or social atmosphere the use of a title is pretentious.
 
It shouldn’t bother you unless he is a pretentious asshole. I try to give others the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he is proud, or maybe you should look at it as maybe he is insecure and this title makes him feel more secure with himself. If he is truly pretentious, then he is an ahole and not worth this thread.

“Capt” Jeff “ex-Cxx” :)
 
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Including it in his signature doesn't bother me one way or the other....now if he insisted on being call Dr. that would be different.

In a similar vein, something that irritates me is the question 'and what do you do'? It seems that is a question I've heard most often from within the boating community.
If he insisted on being called Doctor we'd all just ignore that request and if he still insisted we'd just drop him from our Christmas card lists and, more importantly, our party list.

When someone asks me the "what do you do" question I just reply that I'm a retired boating bum. That seems to cut the direction of that conversation off at the knees.
 
Including it in his signature doesn't bother me one way or the other....now if he insisted on being call Dr. that would be different.

In a similar vein, something that irritates me is the question 'and what do you do'? It seems that is a question I've heard most often from within the boating community. Meet some new folks/boaters, they obviously share an interest in boats, boating, the water, but it isn't long before 'and what do you do'? is asked.

I usually answer the question of "What do you do?" with "As little as possible"....that usually ends with a laugh and on to other things.
 
I had to laugh when I saw this thread because I too am a dentist as are a number of CSR participants. In my professional career of 40 years I've never pushed the DDS or Dr title at all. It is a matter of convention however that when dealing in a professional setting then titles or degrees are used and implied. In my office I usually tried to be on a first name basis with my patients, but that was my approach because I found it relaxed them and developed trust. Others preferred more formality but I felt that puts oneself on a pedestal.
So if someone continues to use their degree or Dr title within social circles, especially when retired, then you be the judge. I don't use it because I feel it's not appropriate socially.
Our friends at the marina generally know what I did professionally and if they want to ask a health-related question then I am happy to oblige. What I really hate when you meet someone new and they have their finger in their mouth pointing at an maxillary right molar. They are mumbling in a contorted language that of course only a dentist or assistant can understand and you just want to get back to your oil change....
When people walk by our boat some will make the connection (our kids named the first boat years ago) and ask but I always follow by saying "retired". They get it and usually follow with "nice boat". There, that was painless, wasn't it?
 
I find it odd that so many folks have an issue with discussing what field they are/were in. I'm a humble and thankful industrial electrician and was raised in a local auto repair garage my father owned. I have no string of degrees. But, it can be a reasonable conversation starter when you know very little of a new group of people. I don't judge anyone by their profession and don't expect anyone to judge me of mine. Maybe it is different for those with a string of degrees.
 
I don’t have a personal email account. I use my business email for everything. My title appears when I send out business communications. It may bleed over occasionally into personal emails but it’s not intentional. I have it set so my signature automatically appears when I start a new email. After that no signature. No signature on my mobile devices.

When I retire I would not attach my signature or title to personal email. I agree that would be pretentious.
 
I find it odd that so many folks have an issue with discussing what field they are/were in. I'm a humble and thankful industrial electrician and was raised in a local auto repair garage my father owned. I have no string of degrees. But, it can be a reasonable conversation starter when you know very little of a new group of people. I don't judge anyone by their profession and don't expect anyone to judge me of mine. Maybe it is different for those with a string of degrees.

I'm a computer scientist for a well known software company. Invariably, when I tell folks what I do, the next question is something like. "Hey I have this computer that's acting up and I was wondering..." or "Hey, can you get me a copy of....". I have learned over the years that it is best to dodge the question.
 
I think all titles outside of the professional setting are pretentious....I think Dr's these days are less likely to use them because they don't want to be asked questions or be called upon...Though, I esp. like the PhD's that call themselves doctors in social settings. I usually call them by their first name... I don't do it to be rude, but more to be personal and remind about being humble....

But, IMO, a waste of a thread...You're being too sensitive...who cares???
I agree, kind of a weird thing to post in a boat forum. I think whoever adds a title like that to their email is a douchebag. I am a "PharmD" but I NEVER put that on any email unless its strictly business. Like they said in "The Hangover" movie, "He is not a real doctor, just a dentist. If someone has a heart attack still call 911"

You gentlemen have stumbled into the tiki bar, we are welcome to discuss most anything we wish here...

MM
 
I'm a computer scientist for a well known software company. Invariably, when I tell folks what I do, the next question is something like. "Hey I have this computer that's acting up and I was wondering..." or "Hey, can you get me a copy of....". I have learned over the years that it is best to dodge the question.
Yep. My B.S. is in IT. My title is System Security Engineer. When I first started out I fixed computers and most of the time it was for free for friends or family. Haven't done that in years but still get people asking me how to fix this or that or when I can fix it for them (my focus now is securing them, not making sure it has enough RAM). Nope. Not interested. The local high schooler could probably fix a computer easier than I could now.
 

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