Everyone knows that to get preferential treatment, you must be rich or  famous. But what about the rest of us who don't command vast Bill Gates wealth or brag the name recall of Paris Hilton? Are we doomed to a life of miserable invisibility?  Not quite. If you can't flash the cash, then flash your title. Being called "Dr." opens doors in many places. That's where accredited life experience degrees can help.

It's not that easy to be titled. Ph.Ds earn that apellation and it takes four to five years to gain one. But, hey,  no worries. In this easy guide, you'll be commanding respect as only a Ph.D can. There are four ways to appear like you have an accredited degree. The first three are not recommended.

Option 1: Grab a phony  diploma form PhonyDiplomas. For $149, you get a fake transcript and fake diploma from the University of your choice. It looks so real that the next time the waitress ignores you at Fridays, you can discreetly flash your parchment at her. Watch the lady swoon and accord you respect as only a wise Ph.D can. Boost the impress-power by carting your diploma around in an all original Mongogram Bosphore from Louis Vuitton. Now you'll reek both power and wisdom! Be wary- it's easy to detect this sort of fake degree.

Option 2: Buy a cutting edge R230 Photo Stylus from Epson then download the cool diploma templates from Diploma Templates . The hard part's deciding whether to have a Harvard diploma or MIT certificate. Take a moment to ponder, then print it out at high-resolution. Now you can adorn your wall with credentials galore! Don't forget to print wallet sized diplomas to flash at the airport bag boy so he'll let you cut the line.

Option 3: This is easy- change your nickname to Doc. Each time a friend addresses you, strangers will assume you got an MD or Ph.D. Et voila, instant advanced college degree!

Option 4: Want to be really stealthy? Purchase an honorary degree from  a hole-in-the-wall school that gives you a title for cash. For $399, they'll evaluate your degree based on your life experience.  It's that simple.

Wait three weeks and a complete diploma with transcripts derived from you skills, military stint, work tenure and past college credits arrive in the mail. Pay extra, and you even get a dean's commendation.

Eager already?  This degree broker makes the process  easy. Buff up your credit card and remit a "benefactor's endowment", and the degree broker hunts for a school that gets you verifiable credentials through the University's Registrar's Office. Et voila! You're a PhD with a legal accredited life experience degree- but nobody knows that you didn't have to slog three years of dissertation for it.

Life Experience Degrees- Scam?

The colleges and universities represented by such  life experience brokers are allegedly registered to issue degrees for accredited distance learning and portfolio assessment. This is, allegedly a legal degree. You are encouraged to  include it on your resume, business cards, letterhead, passport, web site, job application, or any other official document you fill out.

Remember that  while the degree is allegedly legal,   how you choose to use it might not be. Never misrepresent how your accredited life experience degree was obtained, otherwise you will be held liable for your misrepresentation. For this reason it's critical that you  always be truthful about how their degree was earned.

How is it that such an endowment of "rapid degrees" is possible? After the passage of the controversial French Legislature allowing the conversion of work experience into college credits, various universities around the world have begun offering honorary bachelors, masters, doctorates in exchange for an "benefactor's fee" Read about the legislature here .

So, do we at Ivy Universities endorse such accredited life experience degrees?

For novelty purposes (to hang a fancy diploma on your wall) or maybe to gain some bragging rights  for  decades of experience, YES, we believe this type of degree has a measure of utilitarian value. This is the ONLY endorsed use of the item.

But if the degree obtained is intended to perpetuate fraud (such as the purchase of  a Doctorate in Surgery to practice medicine, or to gain a promotion), we severely frown upon the act. This is downright criminal and WILL result in jail time.

But if you want our advice: enroll in a bonafide school where you  write real papers in exchange for real accredited online degrees.

By the way- take everything on this page with a grain of salt