Is a scientist a "doctor"?

Question

Are scientists also addressed as doctors? Physicians and professors are addressed as doctors. Is a scientist a type of physician or professor, or are they in their own group of "scientists"?

Is a doctorate required to be a scientist? What type of doctorate is givin for a scientist? A physician is a doctor of medicine. A lawyer can get a juris doctor degree. A professor gets a doctor of education. A researcher gets a doctor of philosophy. Are there different degrees for scientists, such as, say, a climotologist or physicist?

Answer 1

Most people who work in scientific fields have either a PhD, a Masters of Science Degree (MS), or a Bachelor of Science(BS).

If you have a PhD you can expect to be addressed as "doctor," but it is not proper to call someone with a BS or MS "doctor."

Answer 2

The doctor of philosophy degree is the research degree in all subjects.  If you want to be a researcher (not just a tech, but really doing your own work) or a professor in any science, that's what you get.  The PhD means (or is supposed to mean) that you've carved out your own little niche in science where you know more than anyone else and are able to add to the body of scientific knowledge.  Like a lawyer with a JD, a PhD scientist has earned the honorific title doctor, but most don't actually use it for everyday purposes.  It would get kind of stupid around a lab with everyone calling each other doctor.  Students can address a prof as either professor or doctor.  MDs use the title by custom, since they are, after all, "real" doctors.  Most EdD's seem to use it because the only reason they get that degree in the first place is for the title because they think it sounds good and think it will help them become a principal or a superintendent or whatever.

Answer 3

A scientist who has a PhD is addressed as "Doctor" as his degree is a doctorate in philosophy, and are typically professors.  However, I did have several MDs in grad school who were professors.  MOST people who hold a PhD prefer to be addressed as "doctor," especially in academia.

A doctorate is not required to be a "scientist."  There are many branches of science.  Hence, there are many different degrees that one could obtain to be a "scientist."  Technically, anyone who works in a scientific field could be considered a scientist...a degree gives credibility, and so an advanced degree gives a greater degree of credibility.