This question was absolutely legitimate, and I would like to personally apologize to Jay for the disgraceful level of professionalism exhibited by some of the respondents. To say that I was disappointed in some of the comments is an understatement. EdD or PhD, this thread has certainly proven that there are some very basic levels of intelligence that even the most pompous intellectual blowhard (perhaps more than most) doesn't quite grasp. There are a number of people that attach a little too much self-importance to the piece of paper that hangs on their wall, and in a meritocracy, such as we claim to be, the only measure of worth in this life is what you DO. There are plenty of PhD's out there that have produced nothing but derivative garbage from day one. And there are plenty of college dropouts that have changed the world. Lest we forget that a 3rd rate patent clerk revolutionized modern science while the world's greatest PhD's wet themselves, it seems that we could all use a good dose of humility.
PhD or EdD? The response to the question was very simple. What do you want to do? The two degrees are very different, not superior or inferior, and qualify you for different professions. There have been a few posts that have illustrated these differences quite nicely. The rest have me blinking in disbelief, and I would only encourage Jay to give us another chance if he has another question sometime, because this time we let him (and ourselves) down. D. Muth University of Virginia Environmental Sciences On Fri, Mar 13, 2009 at 12:56 PM, David M. Lawrence <[email protected]> wrote: > What??? The person who started this thread asked a legitimate question -- > the kind of question this listserv is for, i.e., to seek advice on some > professional matter from peers. The trolls came later. > > Dave > > =?iso-8859-1?Q?MTS?= wrote: > >> Wow. This thread is sort of reminding me of the whole science vs. >> creationism topic that appeared on the Entomology listserv out of UGuelph. >> While this thread is certainly entertaining I question the intent of the >> original poster and will put forth the possibility of an internet "troll" >> looking to cause trouble. Honestly, it's so easy to touch a nerve in >> cyberspace especially when you can do it fairly anonymously. To pit one >> profession against another, particularly in this case since there has always >> been tension on this topic, just reeks of trolling IMO. Not to mention if >> the original poster was really making this big of decision......where is he >> now and why is he asking for life altering information on an internet >> listserv? I mean, come on this guy presumably has a whole university at his >> finger tips and should, at least by this point, have enough personal >> experience and self motivation to figure this out. It's not like the two >> fields in question are so similar that you'd really need know the minute >> differences to make the best decision, in fact, these two fields are so very >> different in fundimentals and in duties that it shouldn't so hard you have >> to ask a bunch of strangers what's right. So far the only response from him >> was a list of things that could add fuel to the fire. Maybe I'm just overly >> suspisous but it's not the first time something like this has happened on a >> professional science board and it wouldn't be the last. Heck, I've seen >> email scams on listserv's. Anyway, since everyone is spouting that is what >> I have to say. >> > > -- > ------------------------------------------------------ > David M. Lawrence | Home: (804) 559-9786 > 7471 Brook Way Court | Fax: (804) 559-9787 > Mechanicsville, VA 23111 | Email: [email protected] > USA | http: http://fuzzo.com > ------------------------------------------------------ > > "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo > > "No trespassing > 4/17 of a haiku" -- Richard Brautigan >
