Hello everyone,

I've been accepted to two Canadian PhD programs in social sciences and I am trying to decide whether to take the leap. What I really want to know is what my life will look like for the next 4 years. I'm unattached, no kids, dog-parent only. I have scoured the blogusphere to figure out what it looks like on a day-to-day basis as a full time doc student and here is what (I think) I have come up with so far:

Year 1: Course work (in my case 3-4 courses) which appear to be based on a combination of regular graduate-level classes focused on research methods and current topics in the field with papers for evaluation. Meanwhile, prepare my proposal and convince my supervisor that I am read to start independent research on my topic of choice. Hopefully, I get the Ok.

- How much employment work (outside of school) is feasible during this first year? I've heard that people start looking for academic jobs after first year and, if they are very lucky, can continue PhD work while teaching/working at another university.

Year 2-3: Research related to my dissertation. Write some chapters, maybe publish some articles relating to those chapters. Come up wth a list of 30-40 articles on which to be tested for my "comprehensive exam" (no idea what that looks like btw... I'm guessing essay questions involving critical analysis...).

Year 4: Finish dissertation, defend in front of a committee who quiz me on the research and poke holes, then revise and resubmit (do you have to re-defend?).

Does this outline sound close?

I've also heard that there may be an expectation to work for your supervisor on their research. I am I under a misconception that I will spend my time working on my own project? I'm not talking about applying for research assistantships or teaching here... just straight up bare-bones doctoral studies.

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks for your help!