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Proper etiquette for college degrees in an email signature?
Enos316
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Just curious what people thought about this. I am a Network Engineer at a large hospital and was looking to update my email signature.
I have a Bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems. Would it make sense to add this to my sig line? Many others in the hospital do so with their credentials. Just wondering if there was maybe a minimum level of education to be listed or if it comes across as boasting. Or since I'm IT does no one really give a shit?
Thanks.
For example:
Michael Fake BS, MIS
Fake Hospital
Network Engineer
p:860-555-5555
f:860-555-5555
e:fake@fake.org
I have a Bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems. Would it make sense to add this to my sig line? Many others in the hospital do so with their credentials. Just wondering if there was maybe a minimum level of education to be listed or if it comes across as boasting. Or since I'm IT does no one really give a shit?
Thanks.
For example:
Michael Fake BS, MIS
Fake Hospital
Network Engineer
p:860-555-5555
f:860-555-5555
e:fake@fake.org
Enos316 on
0
This discussion has been closed.
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If you work in Academia, you post your education in your sig.
If you work in the Private Sector, doing so makes you a dick.
Your sig already says Network Engineer.
ENGINEER. Anyone who doesn't respect that is a tool, as it is a name is commensurate with your level of education.
The only acceptable other piece of information in the private sector is Dr. to signify Ph.D status, and even then, the private sector often doesn't give a rats ass unless you're an actual honest to god Doctor of Medicine.
You're a network engineer. Presumably you know how to do your job. That's the only relevant information for people who don't know you and are getting an email from you.
This the complete and utter truth. The only thing in your signature should be a title change. IT is IT to most of the world.
PS3 Trophies
Title is enough. Some of my coworkers don't even do that, they just put their department name.
I don't believe it - I'm on my THIRD PS3, and my FIRST XBOX360. What the heck?
In academics, the education is their job. You don't have higher education degrees in Spanish but teach math.
Well, a lot of engineers with engineering degrees might differ rather strongly with you. I wouldn't, since it is the legitimate title of the position, and the context makes it pretty clear I won't be asking Enos316 to build me any suspension bridges.
My engineering degree is in computer engineering, so I'd suggest no one ask me to build any suspension bridges, either. :P
Pretty true. I work with a lot of Ph.D's in technical fields, it's a rare day when any one person insists on being called "doctor," or even notes it anywhere on communications. Some people do call the local doctorates "doctor," whether it being out of respect or as a gentle form of teasing, I'm not sure.
As for professional certifications, (CCNA, CCIE, CISSP, etc.), most people leave them off. It comes off poorly in a lot of environments. Job title usually conveys authority in most places, not the education you got to get the position. Otherwise, most people would just sign things "John Doe, CEO's nephew", hey? :winky:
This is the core of the issue I think. Degrees and certifications that get you job X, well they get listed when you try to get job X. Once you have job X, you just say "Me That Person, X, That Department" because the X tells people what they need to know and usually implies the certifications. It's redundant to list every IT cert I have when my title and job that people see is HEAD IT GUY. That's all they need to know.
Academia, your position is more tightly related to your degree so it is explicit there. Medicine people take as serious business and your specialization/area usually only comes up after the preliminary, "you're a doctor right" check. I think it's just the whole way that outsiders view it, where "no I mean a real doctor" is par. Internally they worry about the same thing everyone else does, what position and department are you, I don't care that you're a doctor I care if you're the anesthesiologist or the oncologist or what have you.
I've even seen people list their BAs and various forms of Insurance designations.
That being said, if other people in your company are doing it, then.. go for it.
By the time someone's looking at your sig, they've read your email. Anything you say at that point is either useful information or bragging. I've never ever had to know the education level of the person contacting me about a work matter.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
For the record I have a PhD and do not use a signature block at all. I will occasionally make one up in the rare circumstance that I am contacting a vendor or strange professor, and I will include the "PhD" there so they know I am not a random foreign undergrad asking for homework help.
Also, if you do have occasion to use it, don't include the comma between "BS" and "MIS " The way you have it implies you have a Masters in Information Systems/Science. A space would also be confusing...maybe just BSMIS or BS (MIS)
That said, your title, phone number(s), and specific location are plenty for an e-mail signature. No one cares about anything else than being able to contact you quickly when they need to.
This is pretty much how I handle it. 90% of the time, my signature is simply "V/R, ET1 Me". If I send an e-mail that I think someone is going to call me about, I add my phone number. If I'm acting in an official capacity to someone who doesn't know me, I will throw my job title on there. And if I'm contacting a company, I also throw on there how to dial my number from the US.
Adding your e-mail in there is kind of redundant. And quotes are just terrible, but that's more just general e-mail signature advice anyway.
Not necessarily. Depending on your email system when you archive an email it only puts your name, not your email address.
Also, if you work with people from the stone age like I do, who like to print out emails A LOT, this becomes an issue if they can't remember exactly which person was from which company. Ugh.
In either case, don't post your B.S. unless it is academia.
heh heh- so true!
"Oh hai, i'm a clinician, and i saved lives in my previous job, therefore i'm clearly so important that i should get paid TWICE as much as you scientist flunkies with PhDs, to do a job that a grad student is more qualified to do, on account of having actual laboratory experience! Now, why don't one of you losers waste your time teaching me stuff like how to use a pipette, and do concentration calculations"
I put a full signature with email, contact numbers, and physical address, but that's because my company mandates it and because I deal with a large number of external clients/vendors on a daily basis. I don't put any of my education credentials or even my job title - as others have mentioned, it often comes off as pretentious and/or insecure.
In the world of business, people don't care about what you know. They only care about what you can do for them (and subsequently, who you know). If you work purely in an internal capacity (i.e., you only interact with people in your company), then this is doubly true. If your job title and/or education credentials help to clarify what you can do for them, then by all means add it.
However, if you do decide to do this, I agree with Frylock:
Don't put a comma between your BS and MIS as that implies that they are two separate things. I think Frylock has the right of it if you feel you need to specify what the BS is in. (Usually I don't see this specification--just MS or BS if it's not another specific program (like MPH - Masters of Public Health).)
In finance, one may list CFA, CPA or JD status (occasionally, but your title usually reflects it).
Going
Sincerely,
Erios Cuddlefish, CFA on emails to clients etc. is ok.
Michael Fake MIS
Fake Hospital
Network Engineer
It's most likely understood that you have a bachelor's degree after you list your masters degree.
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