Chiropractor or Lawyer? Forum

[sammy416]

Well, what do you like better: back-breaking work or back-cracking work?

This is an absolutely hilarious statement, Lol.

[dingbat]

How does a DC differ from any of the other hundreds of professions that use the title, many of whom never even see a patient?

If a person with a PhD insists on being called "Doctor" then they're a douchebag too. hth

So, if someone acquires a Doctorate, they cannot call themselves doctor?
Unfortunately, in the english language, there's no way to differentiate based on the prefix of someone's name, only the suffix.
(in at least one foreign country that I'm familiar with, a medical doctor would be Dr. and someone with a doctorate would be called Drs.)

However, chiropractors are not medical doctors, nor do they "practice" real medicine.
I'm sure I'll get flack for saying this, but they're really just a (major) step up from a massage therapist.
Don't get me wrong, if I've got joint or muscle pain, I'm more than happy to see a chiropractor, but if I've got real medical issues, I'll go see a real medical doctor.

If OP is worried about prestige, just imagine reactions that people will have when OP introduces him/herself as Doctor, only to inform them that OP is actually a Chiropractor.

[dingbat]

My business card will read "Doctor of Law, Mr. Kal V. Ano, Esquire".

"Esquire", now there's a douchebag title if I ever heard one.
(unless, of course, said person is an actual Esquire, which is a minor title of nobility, one rank below Knight)

[mattviphky]

How does a DC differ from any of the other hundreds of professions that use the title, many of whom never even see a patient?

If a person with a PhD insists on being called "Doctor" then they're a douchebag too. hth

So, if someone acquires a Doctorate, they cannot call themselves doctor?

That's not what he is saying.

[dingbat]

How does a DC differ from any of the other hundreds of professions that use the title, many of whom never even see a patient?

If a person with a PhD insists on being called "Doctor" then they're a douchebag too. hth

So, if someone acquires a Doctorate, they cannot call themselves doctor?

That's not what he is saying.

I apologize for misinterpreting. Please translate for me.

[Bildungsroman]

If a person with a PhD insists on being called "Doctor" then they're a douchebag too. hth

So, if someone acquires a Doctorate, they cannot call themselves doctor?

That's not what he is saying.

I apologize for misinterpreting. Please translate for me.

If someone uses a doctorate as the basis for calling himself a doctor (and having other people call him doctor), then he's a douchebag.

If that sentence gave you so much trouble then I wouldn't recommend a reading-heavy career path like law.

[dingbat]

That's not what he is saying.

I apologize for misinterpreting. Please translate for me.

If someone uses a doctorate as the basis for calling himself a doctor (and having other people call him doctor), then he's a douchebag.

If that sentence gave you so much trouble then I wouldn't recommend a reading-heavy career path like law.[/quote]

I will freely admit (and had already spotted) my misuse of the word "cannot". I should have said "should not".
The non-literal meaning of my statement remains. I'll reiterate my question:

If someone who earns a Doctorate calls him/herself a Doctor, does that automatically make him/her a douchebag?

[Billy Batts]

If anyone uses a title of any kind to introduce himself, that person is instantly suspect in my book. If an older gentleman introduces himself to another adult as "Mister Smith," there is a good likelihood Mr. Smith is an asshole. When a younger person does it, it's even worse. I don't even picture any of our ex-presidents introducing themselves as "President Clinton" or "President Bush," unless perhaps to a young child.

I would expect a third party to introduce Prince Charles as "Prince Charles" to me, but I doubt he introduces himself as such.

[mattviphky]

That's not what he is saying.

I apologize for misinterpreting. Please translate for me.

If someone uses a doctorate as the basis for calling himself a doctor (and having other people call him doctor), then he's a douchebag.

If that sentence gave you so much trouble then I wouldn't recommend a reading-heavy career path like law.

I will freely admit (and had already spotted) my misuse of the word "cannot". I should have said "should not".
The non-literal meaning of my statement remains. I'll reiterate my question:

If someone who earns a Doctorate calls him/herself a Doctor, does that automatically make him/her a douchebag?[/quote]

It's all about context. In class: "Good morning everyone, this is History 342, Colonial Latin America II 1760-1960. My name is Dr. Houston, and welcome to the class." this seems alright, although in hindsight, I don't remember my professors ever referring to themselves as "Doctor"...but I wouldn't mind if they had done so. When ever I contributed in class, went to offices, or e-mailed my professors, I always used the title Dr. Although they would always sign their e-mails with their first names only. People with Ph'd's that teach in universities are a bright bunch. Most of them are aware that it would be rather snobbish to call yourself a doctor in a more intimate atmosphere, like a dinner party. I believe that Ph'ds have earned their titles, and so I have no problem calling them a doctor. But when they are insistent about the title, it makes them look like they have an inferiority complex. Although it's not as bad as "Jake Cake, M.S." or Jake Cake, esq.

[Fark-o-vision]

ITT: Kids who haven't earned honorifics whine about adults who have. Stay classy, TLS.

OP, you sound like an easily irritated guy. Going into a career where people aren't going to constantly argue with/undermine you might be a good idea.

[dingbat]

If anyone uses a title of any kind to introduce himself, that person is instantly suspect in my book. If an older gentleman introduces himself to another adult as "Mister Smith," there is a good likelihood Mr. Smith is an asshole. When a younger person does it, it's even worse. I don't even picture any of our ex-presidents introducing themselves as "President Clinton" or "President Bush," unless perhaps to a young child.

I would expect a third party to introduce Prince Charles as "Prince Charles" to me, but I doubt he introduces himself as such.

As long as it's a legitimate title*, I find it disrespectful to call someone a douchebag just because they use a title they've gone through considerate effort to earn.

To quote: I didn't spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called "mister"

On the other hand, there are plenty of titles that I do not consider legitimate (see my comment earlier re Esquire)

Of course, there are plenty of situations where it would be odd to introduce yourself using your title, as opposed to your first name.

[kalvano]

If anyone uses a title of any kind to introduce himself, that person is instantly suspect in my book. If an older gentleman introduces himself to another adult as "Mister Smith," there is a good likelihood Mr. Smith is an asshole. When a younger person does it, it's even worse. I don't even picture any of our ex-presidents introducing themselves as "President Clinton" or "President Bush," unless perhaps to a young child.

I would expect a third party to introduce Prince Charles as "Prince Charles" to me, but I doubt he introduces himself as such.

To a degree, I agree, but it is context-specific. When a professor is addressing a class, that's one thing, but outside of that type of environment, I am always suspicious of people who use their titles in introductions as well.

When I was in sales, if someone introduced himself as "Dr. John Doe" or "John Doe, Attorney at Law", I knew that I was not going to get along with that person.

I don't have a problem with someone who has a doctorate in a field who is a professional in that field using the title "Doctor" when they are doing business within that field, such as a professor teaching a class. It's when they use it in a casual social setting that I find them to be insufferable.

[Billy Batts]

Use the title. Use it on your building's door, business cards, and invoices. Don't use it when you are meeting other adults.

If you didn't spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called mister, does that mean you did spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called doctor? If you care even a little bit about whether someone else calls you doctor, or even mister, odds are you're the kind of person I (subjectively) would consider a dipshit. It means you are seeking some sort of recognition or prestige, and I don't think that's cool. I think introducing yourself with a title is a little childish. "Look at me, I'm a doctor." Who gives a shit? Same goes for MDs, PhDs, EdDs, or whatever else you got.

How is your education type relevant right when I meet you at a Super Bowl party? Talk for a little while, and I'm sure the topic of your occupation will come up naturally. Let's say you own a company that builds skyscrapers. Your net worth is $15 million. That's pretty impressive. But if you introduce yourself as "Bob Smith, skyscraper constructor," it sounds pretentious. That is not to say that Mr. Smith, Dr. Smith, or Bob Smith cannot use their titles to indroduce themselves. They just run the risk of turning off a lot of people.

[Odd Future Wolf Gang]

Get an M.A. or M.S. and introduce yourself to people as Master.

[Billy Batts]

Get an M.A. or M.S. and introduce yourself to people as Master.

Especially if your last name is Bates.

[Fark-o-vision]

Use the title. Use it on your building's door, business cards, and invoices. Don't use it when you are meeting other adults.

If you didn't spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called mister, does that mean you did spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called doctor? If you care even a little bit about whether someone else calls you doctor, or even mister, odds are you're the kind of person I (subjectively) would consider a dipshit. It means you are seeking some sort of recognition or prestige, and I don't think that's cool. I think introducing yourself with a title is a little childish. "Look at me, I'm a doctor." Who gives a shit? Same goes for MDs, PhDs, EdDs, or whatever else you got.

How is your education type relevant right when I meet you at a Super Bowl party? Talk for a little while, and I'm sure the topic of your occupation will come up naturally. Let's say you own a company that builds skyscrapers. Your net worth is $15 million. That's pretty impressive. But if you introduce yourself as "Bob Smith, skyscraper constructor," it sounds pretentious. That is not to say that Mr. Smith, Dr. Smith, or Bob Smith cannot use their titles to indroduce themselves. They just run the risk of turning off a lot of people.

As the poster above said, its all about context. If I'm at a BBQ and a guy introduces himself as Dr. Banks then it seems off, a little anti-social, but its still within his rights. He's setting the tone for the kind of personal relationship we're going to have, and that's fine.

If I'm at a trade show, or a convention, or some other professional/semi-professional gathering, I'd fully expect the title to be used. We've become increasingly informal in America, especially since the 80's, but I think there might be some value there still.

[Tom Joad]

I am officially making a request to the mods to change my screen name to Tom Joad, B. Sc. to reflect my high position in society.

[biomedhawk]

I have good enough GPA and scores to do either.

I have heard pros and cons to each. Some on this forum on noticed say not to do lawschool. Do you think Dr of Chiropractic is a better alternative?

Why or why not?

Do you think it would help to get both? I know there is joint MD/JD being a DC/JD might take longer, but given the choice of one, the other, or joint, what would you recommend to others and why?

Big choice obviously, seeking advise.

For an actual response to the OP, I guess it comes down to what law school you can get into. If you can go T14 of somewhere else that will give you money then personally I would go to law school. If you're going to be T2 or lower and you don't mind the idea of working in health then I'd go to chiro school. It's still really expensive ($100k+) but the employment prospect is way better, it doesn't lock you into a certain region and it's way easier to open shop as solo practitioner.

[JCDent]

Ok here's what it boils down to. Neither of this professions carries much prestige anymore. As a member of the science community, I can tell you that Chiropractors are viewed with extreme skepticism and that there is a mounting body of evidence suggesting there is no tangible benefit to their services. It's about as easy to get into most DC programs as it is your standard T2-TTTT law school, so no real difference there.

As for the chiropractic job market, I'm assuming it's a lot like the non-MD health professions, whereby there has been a relatively recent explosion of schools offering the degrees, so the once stable, high paying job market is now flooded with new grads all looking for a piece of the pie. I'd imagine if you can get hired at a well established Chiropractic Practice you'd do okay, but chances are those positions will be hard to come by, meaning you'll be left to fend for yourself. Also, keep in mind that most HMOs/health plans likely DO NOT cover chiropractic treatments, meaning people have to pay out of pocket for this service which severely limits your clientele base, especially ITE. (NOTE optometry is facing a similar situation, thus this is not based on my disbelief that chiropractors do anything).

Reading this site will give you enough information about the legal job market so no need to rehash that.

Your hesitance to suggest where you would potentially attend law school or chiropractic school suggests you're not looking at ideal options for either, in which case I would suggest either don't go, or go to the cheaper of the two. Since law schools hand out $$$$ and to my knowledge chiropractic school will not, law school will probably be the cheaper option on paper (may change once you factor in stipulations, etc.). If I am mistaken and you can get into a good law school, either T14 or a strong regional one, then in my opinion that is far and away your better option. Again, chiropractors are kind of snake-oil salesmen, not a lot of scientific support that they do much. I know some people swear by them, but some people also have strokes after visiting them so you know...

[dailygrind]

This dude got banned, so I'm just gonna go ahead and lock this.