They Should Put a Warning Label on These Things

I think there should be a warning label on graduate education, esp. doctoral education. I've heard that doctoral education is less about learning certain things and more about becoming a certain kind of person. It's true... Doctoral education is an experience that will change the way you see the world, think about the world and communicate with the world forever. I can't say that's a bad thing but it's not an entirely good thing either. There is danger of becoming indecisive; instead of becoming more concrete, many things become more ambigous. The people who make up degree programs and decide prerequisits, objectives and requirements; the people who accredit these same programs are people no different than you and me. This a scarey thought in my mind. Embarking on this process also has potential to affect the way you are able to relate (or perhaps more likely, not relate) to others. How do you make your new paradigm compatible with function in the world you live in? It would be interesting to do a study on students persuing a PhD to examine the life changes they experience during and immediately after PhD journey. Did they experience any major changes in their relationships with family, friends and collegues? Did they change jobs? What would they put warning labels on?
I asked one student what she would put a warning label on and we ended up having a really interesting conversation. What life experiences would you put a warning label on and why?