Songfacts®:

• "'Working Man's Ph.D.' is an Aaron Tippin-type of meat-and-taters song. It's what my career is based on," Tippin told Songfacts of the #7 Country hit. "I think that 'Ph.D.' is a shining example of why my career is different from other entertainers. I never have done just the next love song. I definitely dug deep to find great songs that apply to more in life than just breaking up and kissing and hugging, making up. It's what's been the focus of this career."
  
  Tippin co-wrote the song - about a day in the life of a blue collar worker - with country songwriters Philip Douglas and Bobby Boyd.
• If you want a cram course in reality
  You get yourself a Working Man's Ph.D.
  
  Tippin earned his own "Working Man's Ph.D." growing up on a farm in South Carolina and working as a welder, a mechanic, and an airplane pilot before heading to Nashville as a songwriter.