Why don’t people show off the evidence of their acadmic achievement?
In my experience, most people keep their academic and professional degrees out of sight, or at least away from their workplaces. Is it considered bad form to show off your diplomas?
I used to work at a publishing house where many of the editors were JD+CPA+LLM/MST, and the only diploma they put up on the wall was for the successful completion of the in-house course on “Introduction to Marketing III: Deceptive Pie Charts” or somesuch.
I can only recall ever seeing one person in the U.S. (the human resources director of a big downtown Chicago hotel) having his diploma on the wall of his office.
I have my degrees and certificates framed on the wall in my home office. Where are yours?
Mine is in the leatheroid folder as it came in the mail from the university. I’m not sure where the folder is - maybe in my bedroom closet? It’s just not that important to me. In fact, I’d gladly give it up if that would keep the alumni association from hounding me for donations.
My MA diploma from the University of Toronto got lost somewhere in the mail, so for all I know it is being “displayed” in a post office back room somewhere
Mine is still in the stiff cardboard envelope it came in. I did bring it with me when I moved out of my parents’ house, with the vague intention of framing it someday, but seeing my college degree on the wall of my miniscule apartment would probably be pretty depressing.
It has been my experience that those who deal with the public in their offices (lawyers, doctors, etc.) almost always display their diplomas compared to those of us who don’t deal with the public. I think the general population likes to know that their doctor did indeed go to medical school and graduated.
Our department (Marketing) supports others within the organization but not the general consumer population, so maybe that’s the reason.
FWIW, most of us know among our peers who went to this college or that university and who has a Masters or who’s a PhD. The only exception is the guy who went to Harvard who has his diploma on his office wall in case you missed it when he mentions it - monthly or so.
I have the certificates from two workshop-type copyediting courses I took at the U of Chicago framed and displayed in my home office, where none of my clients will ever see them. My college diploma is in a manila envelope in a box somewhere. My high school diploma is in its little leatherette folder, probably in the same box.
Strange choice, I suppose, not to display my college diploma, as it cost a lot more in sweat and cash. But there you have it. (I also have on display in my office a postcard for a small-business seminar (which I did not attend) that says, “IT’S YOUR ASS.”)
I had my diplomas and bar admissions stuck in a really big book I never looked at. Some kind of an atlas. A few years ago my wife donated some books to charity …
The only one I miss is my first martial arts teaching certificate!
I have mine in store bought frames, hanging on the wall in my bedroom. I don’t like to brag gratuitously about my accomplishments, but I worked very hard for those degrees. By hanging them in my bedroom, they serve as a pleasant little reminder (when I need one), of how hard work pays off.
My wife and I have all of ours, from kindergarten through JD (her) and Ph.D. (me), hanging on one wall, often called our “brag wall.” Like lauramarlane we like the reminder, plus they’re a reminder to our son about the importance of education.
My degree, and my wife’s were up in our last place. We don’t have them up on the walls at the moment because we don’t have as much wall space (there are numerous wall-to-wall closets with mirrored doors…)
They’ll go up again, I’m sure.
My uni degree was behind my parents couch (on the floor) for a very long time - a year maybe. But at least it was in a frame. I found it pretty funny. Took a picture.
My college diploma is in a ‘safe spot’ somewhere in my house. No idea. No frame.
Mrs. Gaffer framed my MA diploma last year for my birthday. I know have it up in my office at work, although it is purely for my own ego as I don’t interact with the public and my colleagues all have MA’s as well.
But, if the Mrs. hadn’t gotten it framed, I’m sure it would still be sitting in our filing cabinent next to my thesis and my BA diplomas!
My college diploma is on my wall above my computer, in a nice gold colored frame. My parents had it framed as a gift for me one Christmas - otherwise, I wouldn’t have done anything with it. Never got my high school diploma - what they gave us at graduation was just the empty leather folder, and I didn’t know where to pick up the actual diploma.
On the wall in my office at home (upstairs where nobody else normally goes). I would NEVER hang them anywhere more public, I think that would be ostentatious (they’re both Ivy league universities). Plus I’d rather be looking at artwork.
