When DH Richard was working on his doctorate, we attended some academic dinner function and shared a table with many of his classmates. The females treated me like his "little wifey" and were oh-so-arrogant. At the time, I had a librarian job at the same university that carried an academic rank. So, when it came time to introduce guests, Richard really laid it on thick, introducing me as Director of the Middletown Campus Library and associate professor, a rank that would take his classmates years to attain through the promotion and tenure process, assuming they found full-time professorships at all.
I did always want to get my own Ph.D., so that when someone on the phone asked for Dr. Palmer, I could ask if they meant Mr. Dr. Palmer or Mrs. Dr. Palmer. However, having seen too many doctorates left unfinished, I decided that I'd rather never start, than start and not finish.