Yes, some PhD progams are tough, and so are the people from them. I am in R&D in the semiconductor industry, and all the engineers I work with aren’t really “engineers,” they’re considered “scientists” because they all have PhD. In Electrical Engineering.
But they prefer “Engineers.” Don’t know why. I am not one of them.
I'm in IT and prefer the title "Senior Systems Engineer" because a) that's what I do and b) I worked my butt off for that degree.
But I'm not rude about it, just if I had my druthers, that's what I like. Titles don't mean much in IT, anyway. :-)