Entitled

I had a really nice chat with the technical director of the small engineering company that sadly didn’t hire me (link), and he confirmed what I already knew but needed to be told again: Most jobs are not advertised. Which means I need to get out there, network, apply speculatively, etc. He also thought it a good idea to have business cards, and as designing a business card seems something worthwhile to do (although it is just concealed procrastination really) I set out and did so. But I came across one question (and then some more) regarding my title and hope to hear some opinions from my dear readers.

  • As someone looking for a job as a scientist - would you put your doctor title on your business card? And if so, does it look too pompous in front of the name, as in Dr. Jane Doe? Especially as I’m not applying for academic positions but for advisory roles in the public service, consulting roles at private consultancies, and scientist roles in industry. 
  • Could it be confused with a medical degree?
  • As my actual degree is Dr.-Ing., how about putting it after the name in brackets, as in Jane Doe (Dr.-Ing.)? Could be a conversation starter, as no-one here knows what it means really. Or how would Jane Doe (Dr.) look?
  • Could leaving it out lead to missed opportunities? It does say scientist on the backside of the card which implies a doctorate, doesn’t it?
  • Do you think there are cultural differences between countries regarding how much a title is used or valued?

Other things I’m meaning to put on the card:

  • Phone number
  • E-mail address
  • Linkedin website
  • The words: Scientist - Chemistry, Materials Science, Scientific Advice
  • My home address. But should I? Is it unneccessary information as people would contact me via phone or e-mail anyway? I thought it would be good to see that I’m located in Edinburgh - but writing just “Edinburgh” without street and postcode looks funny.



Comments

Do you need a doctorate degree in order to be a scientist? Sheldon Cooper says yes but usually one would say no?Can a Dr. be confused with a medical degree? I thought it’s Jane Doe M.D. - at least in the US, don’t know about UK.Should you include your degree on your business card? Why not, at least it explains right away what you have done the last 10 years (studying, researching, …).As a trade-off you could put your Dr. in a second row right below your name along with the information you being a chemist and so forth. - der Erich

I would put your degree/title on the card (I like the bracket version of Dr.-Ing.) Funnily enough a scientist in the UK does not necessarily mean you have a PhD on the contrary. Everyone being able to hold/handle has “Scientist” as job description- they can have a bachelor degree in science or not. So don’t be shy and put it out there:)Eek I wouldn’t put my private address down - stalkers…..Could you put some examples up and we vote?????:-) - Kat

Cool, thanks for your input! As patience is not one of my strengths I now ordered the cards and hope they’ll turn out ok. If they do I might publish a picture of them here. If not, it’s only a hundred, so no biggie. I replaced the full address with “Edinburgh, Scotland” and put “Dr.” in front of my name, just because it looks cleaner than any of the Dr-Ing. options. - Maike