[yummyfajitas]

Lots of geeks get their dander up when they find out you have a doctorate, and start hammering on you harder, as if to prove something to themselves. I've also had people explicitly question my interest in jobs, to my face.

I've had this happen as well, but once you overcome these obstacles, you are at an advantage.

On interviews, I get that initial skepticism that I'm too "pie in the sky". That vanishes after a coding test. As for my interest in jobs, I've been asked that, but it's always been a fair question (in fact, I've never been asked that about a job I really wanted).

[timr]

I haven't had the degree long enough to know one way or the other if it's a net benefit. It's possible that it really helps as you get further along in your career. And truthfully, the downside hasn't been so bad that I've thought about hiding it on a resume (in CS -- I definitely thought about it while hunting for a job in biotech, for various perverse reasons).

I'm just saying that I've personally experienced the downside, so I know it's not a made-up phenomenon.