answer:I work in an academic department at my university, so I am in daily contact with approximately 50+ professors who have Ph.Ds, and about 200 graduate students working toward their Ph.Ds. Generally they’re just like everyone else…some are funny, kind, very down to earth and not seemingly the “academic” type until they start talking about their field(s) of interest. Others act like they are god’s gift to mankind, have not bothered to learn my name after 5 years of my working there (despite the fact that I do tasks for them regularly) and are snooty, stuck up, arrogant jerks. A LOT of the grad students are socially awkward. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the amount of time they spend away from the general public because they are researching and writing, because only a very small handful of the full professors seem socially awkward, while a seemingly disproportionately large number of the grad students are. I don’t necessarily think they feel less connected to other fields of study…most of them have more than one interest and are able to combine those interests into their research, classes, and writings. As far as how it feels to have a Ph.D, I think most of them feel very proud (as they should) and I always get a lift when a grad student walks into the department with the biggest smile on his or her face because they just defended and it went well.