No offense Chaoscat, but I don’t think you have any idea what is involved in getting a Ph.D. You make medicine out to be distinctly different than Herpetology. Why? Medicine is one of the shortest doctorate degrees one can obtain and admits far more applicants than other doctorate programs. Most other doctorates require an average of 6 years (post bachelor’s degree) to complete. Many things learned in graduate school such as advanced research methods and advanced statistics do not become quickly outdated as you implied. Many Ph.D.s don’t even work in their given fields because their knowledge is so valued by other industries. Many end up as consultants for government agencies, think tanks, consultant firms and other private industries. The day you meet someone who is self taught conducting research for the CIA or for a major university will never come. Show me a self taught person with tenure at a research university or a 7 digit government research grant. No one should be belittled for not having certain levels of formal education, but please, please do not belittle those of us who have spent countless hours and effort obtaining our degrees. My department was recently awarded 7 million dollars in grant money! It is ridicules to suggest that this type of money is given to us just because we have a “sheet of paper” as you stated.

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