Letter: Linh Nguyen’s Ph.D. gives her tools she needs for DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder’s Office

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 4.7 million individuals in our country had a doctorate degree in 2021.

The 2021 population estimate is 331,893,745, which means that only about 1.4% of the population has such a degree.

Doctorate degrees include a couple different possibilities, the most common of which are Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), though there are others. They don’t include Doctor of Medicine (MD) and Juris Doctor (JD, or law degree), which are considered Professional degrees.

The “philosophy” part of Ph.D. does not refer to studying the subject of Philosophy itself; Ph.D.s are awarded in many subjects. Rather, “philosophy” means the in-depth study of the foundations and frontiers of a particular subject area – a Ph.D. student is learning how to think very specifically in the style of that field, as well as how to apply that style to the creation of new research.

I am an economist. I have a Ph.D. in economics, and I spent years learning mathematical models of how people make decisions and then creating those models myself.

A Ph.D. in one area does not make you an expert in everything, but in my experience, it indicates dedication, hard work, strong ethics and an ability to weigh trade-offs.

Linh Nguyen’s Ph.D. in chemistry also indicates advanced quantitative and statistical training. These are good qualities for the position of DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder, regardless of party affiliation, to ensure election security and voting rights in DeKalb.

Anna Klis

DeKalb