# Doctors and their diplomas on the wall... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 13, 2008, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-their-diplomas-on-the-wall/445139 "2008-04-13T08:09:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-their-diplomas-on-the-wall/445139/21 "2008-04-19T19:34:59Z")
The first twelve seconds of this [clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAshQXciySs) seems appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-their-diplomas-on-the-wall/445139/22 "2008-04-19T22:34:05Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] **Northern Piper** : I remember that thread. I was surprised at the number of people who had them boxed up somewhere. Geez, ya paid enough for it! šŸ˜‰ **Merkwurdigliebe** : the practice also allows people to know where you went to University. To some folks thatā€™s a Big Deal [sup]TM[/sup]. [/QUOTE] Well, some of us who attended institutions of higher education :: cough, cough :: donā€™t do whatever we studied for in the first place. As a matter of fact I had two completely unrelated careers in my life, and diplomas to go with them. Right now I am an ā€˜independent professionalā€™ doing something completely different from where I started, and my office is behind my kitchen. Who would I impress with all these yellowing papers? Meh! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-their-diplomas-on-the-wall/445139/23 "2008-04-20T09:41:46Z")
I was embarrassed to show my diploma when I graduated! After all the time and effort at the University of Guelph, they hand me an 8.5x11" page that looks like it was printed up in Word that morning (seriously, the font looks suspiciously like an italicised version of Times New Roman) on what strongly resembles University letterhead. It sucked! It didnā€™t even come in a nice cardboard folder or anything; just an ugly-ass regular envelope! I was really disappointed, and I could tell a lot of the other students at that convocation were looking at theirs with a WTF??!?! look on their face! My husband has two, large, beautiful, Latin, calligraphied diplomas from McMaster (his BEng and MASc). He got the first one framed, then put the other one in on top of it in the same frame. Itā€™s sitting in a corner, helping to prop up that book case! hehehe I donā€™t know what kind of paperwork heā€™ll get with is PE, but as a jr. eng. all he gets is a little paper wallet card. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-their-diplomas-on-the-wall/445139/24 "2008-04-20T15:52:45Z")
**mnemosyne** , did you let the university know what you thought of it? Getting the degree is a crowning moment in your academic life; you shouldnā€™t be made to feel ashamed of it. maybe if grads start squawking, the university might change it? (Plus, from a crass advertising perspective, I would think university administrators wouldnā€™t like to hear their grads say ā€œMy degree is so cheap-looking I wonā€™t even hang it up in my office.ā€) ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-their-diplomas-on-the-wall/445139/25 "2008-04-20T21:47:32Z")
No, I didnā€™t talk to anyone at the university about it. I actually never set foot on that campus again after convocation, and the only communication I had with the school was an address change! I loved the school, itā€™s just that I didnā€™t really ever have any reason to go back, and now that Iā€™m not even in the provinceā€¦ well, itā€™s just not worth the effort! Besides, Iā€™ve gone back to school to get an Engineering degree - I think McGill has prettier diplomas, though for me itā€™s all about the ring! I need more jewelery! hehehe You know, the Guelph one would have been a bit better if they had bothered to print it in landscape! It just looks even tackier because itā€™s in portrait layout! ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-their-diplomas-on-the-wall/445139/26 "2008-04-20T22:53:46Z")
Forgive my ignoranceā€¦ what is a PE? the only ā€œPEā€ I know of is Physical Educationā€¦ is that what you people are talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-their-diplomas-on-the-wall/445139/27 "2008-04-20T23:06:40Z")
**P** rinciples and **P** ractice of **E** ngineering exam, which is required to be a **P** rofessional **E** ngineer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctors-and-their-diplomas-on-the-wall/445139.md?page=1)