Letters Behind Your Name: Right vs. Privilege

The title of this article is a bit misleading, as the space allotted to the right of having letters behind your name will be minimal. It’s not a debatable topic. Every set of letters has a requirement; if you met those requirements, you are entitled/have a right to slap those babies behind your name and have a margarita. Wootness! Celebrate and be proud.

Letters signify hard work and achievement. Each set is different, but the common denominator is competency. In some area, you have proven that you have a set of defined skills that were demonstrated consistently. You are great at something. Awesome! High Five!

And the really cool bonus is that you now have a legitimate reason to get new business cards. Yay! I know I get tired of mine long before I run out.

But, on to the nuts and bolts…

Letters behind your name is a privilege. Of higher importance than you may think. Or realize.

I’m pretty new to the industry, the professional part of it, anyway. I still am in awe of those who have achieved levels of distinction within the PPA. Letters behind the name has always been impressive, for me. I come from a background where letters after your name are the norm. I get it. So, I know that those letters indicate that the recipient has gone above and beyond and is deserving of a certain level of respect, whether I know them or not.

But it seems I may be in the minority with this pattern of thinking. Perhaps I may even be wrong.

I love the PPA’s certification and degree system as well as their print competitions. Where else can you reach levels of competency with the encouragement, help and congratulations of the others that have gone there before you? Only in print competition do I rejoice when I someone I know scores a 100 after I scored a 74. We aren’t competing against each other, we are competing against ourselves. Likewise with the letters behind our names – these are journeys we forced ourselves to travel and accomplishments of our own doing. We were not judged against others or held in comparison to earn them.

It’s so rewarding to watch someone as they work towards their letters. Whether it be the aspiring Craftsman who is refining his program and putting out feelers for folks who need speakers, the maker working towards a master/master artist degree, merit by merit, or the CPP candidate studying their heart out for the exam. You watch and you cheer and you help, if you can. And boy howdy it’s awesome when they get there. Even if I have not been in their shoes, I know how hard a journey can be and how sweet an accomplishment feels.

But, it’s so disappointing to see those with bright, shiny letters turn on others without them. Or compare their letters with others. My heart hurt when I heard someone describe a Master’s Degree as less desired and important than the CPP. Both are important in their own way and have their own challenges and level of difficulties, but in my opinion, have no comparison to each other and cannot be and should not be placed in a ranking order. The conversation was offensive and did not reflect well on the CPP.

A bit of tactful education went a long way in the above situation, but I’m very concerned about this as it seems to be a growing attitude.

It’s not a “who’s better?” kind of thing. I look at it as a “so awesome you joined our club!” kind of thing.

I’m saddened when I hear the “all that and a bag of chips red-headed stepchild with a chip on their shoulder” attitude. Designations and letters behind your name are AWESOME and we should be holding out the hand of help right now and paying that privilege forward, not doing the “I’m better than you” dance.

When I am called for a type of photography that I do not do, I recommend other photographers in my area with PPA credentials. I just do. I want my fellow professionals to succeed. I do the same thing when I’m under consideration for a job. If the client indicates that they are shopping around, I list the CPPs and Master Photographers in my area for them. If they’re gonna shop around, I want them to have some quality-based options.

Maybe I’m weird. Maybe I’m out to lunch. Maybe I’m just flat out wrong. It wouldn’t be a first time for any of the three.

I have a couple of personal fan clubs in my head for photographers that I admire. Most are Masters in the PPA, some are Fellows in the ASP. They are all good photographers and persons I aspire to be like. I recommend that colleagues of mine shooting similar styles and subjects check out their work and I defer to them as experts in their particular area(s) of specialization. I follow their blogs, their work, their posts and their competition results. I don’t pester them, I’m just a fan.

The common denominator amongst them is that they ALL have letters after their names.

And when one of them used the words “bragging,” “conceited” and “self-aggrandizing” in their communication with me, I was shocked. I cried. I looked up “self-aggrandizing” and cried some more. And then I stopped communicating. I stopped answering emails, posts and telephone calls. I stopped writing.

I wanted to die. For a week, at least. It was the lowest and darkest place I have been in, in a very long time. I shut down my social media accounts for over a month and retreated from all interaction with others. Wootness limped by with a couple of pre-written drafts, and what you are reading is the first article I’ve written in 81 days.

That’s kind of sad.

And absurd.

It is absurd that I placed someone I didn’t know on such a high pedestal that they were able to crush my spirit with a few sentences. It is absurd that I placed those with initials behind their names in such high regard based on that, alone. There’s a name in front of those initials and it belongs to a person. And not every person is a nice person. I disregarded the person and gave respect based on letters.

And even though I did nothing wrong, I am changed. I have learned lessons. It’s so unfortunate that the lessons you learn the most from are the ones that are the most painful. And sometimes just downright unnecessary.

So those of you with some hero-worship going on, take the letters with a little grain of salt.

And those of you with the letters – be careful. Please, please, be careful. You have been given a privilege. Cherish it. There’s a level of responsibility and professionalism that goes with the territory. Letters behind your name need honored. And you honor them by remembering what it took to get there. You pay it forward, like those who helped you. You kindly educate with them, not use them as a weapon. And never forget that you wear them – like a mantle, like a crown. Long after the medallion is put away after convention weekend, you still bear the responsibility of professionalism and respect. To those who have completed the journey and those who have just begun.