I should be writing about the serious problem of inequality and to what extent it has an ethnic dimension, as I promised last week. I should also perhaps be looking at firms’ and banks’ balance sheet to discern trends. The latter, in particular, can wait since Guyana does not possess informationally-sensitive forward and spot markets. As someone who actually completed a doctorate in economics, but who makes it a point to tell people to call me by first name, this fetishization of the doctorate in Guyana has been bothering me. I think a large part of the misunderstanding comes from the motivation for obtaining the title to impress the masses. We have the problem of a large percentage of the population being unaware of how one gets a doctorate and its primary purpose. Most people conflate an honorary doctorate for a real one. This reminds me of Lloyd Best’s coinage of the term “doctor politics” as it relates to Trinidad and Tobago. It’s an apt term for several members of the new Guyanese political class, I believe.
I will not discuss much the medical doctor (MD) degree, except to say it is one of the most difficult programs to gain acceptance into and to complete in the United States. I will limit my discussion to the doctoral degree in the social and natural sciences, as well as the doctoral research-focused degree offered by business schools – the doctor of business administration (DBA).
The purpose of a doctorate is to dedicate one’s life to research in the social, medical or natural realm. So, for example, if one is an MD that person’s calling is to save our lives by diagnosing and treating illnesses. You can have an MD-PhD which is meant for research in that field. The latter provides deeper methodological training than the MD. In general, the PhD (or DPhil) and DBA are research degrees. If one is passionate about research in academia, government or private sector, then pursue this degree. It is a gruelling experience. So, do not punish yourself if research is not your passion. They all require serious methodological training, coursework, oral and written comprehensive exams, and an original doctoral dissertation that must make a contribution to the field. No self-respecting university offers doctorates for summarizing existing knowledge.