I did a quick keyword search for 'third year', 'starting third year' and couldn't find much on this so wanted to tell my story in the hope of some advice or support.

On 24th September I officially enter the third and final funded year of my PhD - scary!

My first year was very slow, lots of personal issues at the very beginning meant that it was slow off the ground but I passed my first year progression.

My second year - I committed myself to getting organised and on with things, I had three studies planned and hadn't started any of them but had a plan, it would be tough but I just needed to stay motivated.

Now, at the end of my second year I have 2 of the 3 studies completed, one of these is drafted as a chapter and the other is still to be written. I have ethical approval (pending final amendments) for my final study and this should be completed mid-December.

The plan - I only have around 20,000 words written up and sometimes this concerns me but if I stick to my plan I should reach my target of having a full draft by 1st July next year and be ready to submit in September. Either way I'll need to start earning money in October.

Any advice/tips/words of wisdom/support highly welcome!

FYI: I'm in the social sciences carrying out qualitative research.

Thanks for reading :)

Well done, GrumpyMule.

My tip for a social science PhD would be to keep your eye on the argument your thesis is making - keep reading and thinking while you’re finishing your research so that you’re clear about writing the remainder when the time comes.

It sounds as if you already have the motivation/perseverance to see it through. Good luck - and enjoy your final year!

Thanks a lot kelpie! I didn't actually anticipate a 'well done' so that has helped put things in perspective, it's easy to forget how far you've come when you've still got a long way to go.

A good point about the argument, this is something I'm constantly revising in my head and in notes, I feel like it's all coming together but have nothing tangible to show for it yet. I guess I need to keep on top of the writing and hopefully it will fall into place.

Thanks again for the comments :)

Well done. You've come so far and sounds like you've managed to plan your time well despite challenges. I can't believe I'm second year! Also qualitative humanities. I start recruiting now. Scared and excited. Other than the proposal and pilot report words written on actual PhD = 0! I start PhD writing tomorrow :-) My plan is methodology, theoretical framework and lit review done end of year 2.

Sounds like you are making good progress. An important thing to keep in mind is the 80/20 principle, especially when it applies to thesis writing. Getting the thesis to a complete draft is an important milestone, but you should give youself a few extra months as a buffer if possible. There will be a seemingly endless number of ammendments and small rewrites to do on top of your edits and polishing.

Having just submitted my PhD for examination in sociology that is a combination of qualitative content analysis/qualitative interviews (no Viva in Australia) I can say that you may not have given yourself enough time for edits. While you can definitely get a first draft ready by July, the chance of being able to submit two months later can be really difficult, depending on:

1) How long it takes for your supervisor(s) to read the first draft
2) How long it'll take to make the revisions
3) How long it'll take for your supervisor(s) to review the second draft
4) How long it'll take to make the those revisions...etc.
5) How many cycles of that you might go through before approval for submission/printing.

I submitted my first full draft in early February, 2014. My supervisors had it ready by the end of March. The second draft was June (but only because I got married in April/heaps of marking/teaching to do as semesters here run from March to November). I didn't get that draft back until mid July, in which further revisions were needed.

My third draft was sent through at the end of July, and handed back with minimal issues (couple of small things) to fix and then approved for printing. I didn't get that draft back until mid-august.

So that was 6 months between first draft ready and final draft printed for submission.

I'm definitely not trying to bring you down as it's awesome that you've come as far as you have! I'm just letting you know that there are numerous things that can come up, and while two months might seem like more than enough time, the reality is that it's actually out of your control when you are waiting for revisions/comments. It can take your supervisors much longer than anticipated, and the revisions might be major or minor.

So as Barramack has suggested, give yourself extra time or try to aim for an earlier first draft date?

Thanks so much for the above advice. I'm beginning to realise that the revisions may take longer than planned but also that it's not going to be as black and white as submitting my thesis one day and starting full time work the next. I've discussed my thoughts and fears with my supervisor and his advice was to wait until the thesis is "in good shape" before starting work and so wait until I at least have a first full draft.

It's great to have this forum to come to for support - thanks again :)