I am sure this was ask previously. But can someone tell me the grade we will start off?
GS-5, Step 1
I am sure this was ask previously. But can someone tell me the grade we will start off?
I believe Grade 5 step 1I am sure this was ask previously. But can someone tell me the grade we will start off?
I am sure this was ask previously. But can someone tell me the grade we will start off?
I received my tentative offer this morning via e-mail as well. My placement is in Long Island City with the national center for immunization and respiratory diseases. Seems like an awesome deal, but I am still on the fence as I have a significant scholarship offer to attend the University of Michigan's SPH. I haven't inquired about this yet, but I wonder if a transfer to Michigan would be possible.
Has anyone here been placed in Michigan?
I'm pretty sure location is non-negotiable or transferable. I say draw a pros and cons list to determine which one is better for you. I believe opportunities will provide you with great experience. Good luck making a decision!
Does anyone know if the locality pay is reflected in the tentative offer letter or if it's something that will be adjusted later?
My tentative offer salary was lower than the OPM table also. I hope we can get it cleared up!I was wondering the same thing! I emailed to clarify because my tentative offer had a lower salary than the OPM table. I'll let you all know if/when I hear back!
I was wondering the same thing! I emailed to clarify because my tentative offer had a lower salary than the OPM table. I'll let you all know if/when I hear back!
Pay attention to the "Rest of United States (Consisting of those portions of the United States and its territories and possessions as listed in 5 CFR 591.205 not located within another locality pay area.)" category of the locality pay table (you'll find it towards the bottom).
My guess is that is the category for those of us that'll be in rural areas.
Same here, my placement is in Baltimore. I also emailed them back so I'll let you know what they respond.That makes sense for the salary I got in my tentative offer letter, but my placement is New York, so I'm not sure why I didn't get the salary for New York in my letter...
My tentative offer had the correct annual salary and it included the locality pay. In the offer, they did not break it down separately. They presented it as 1 lump sum including the locality pay. Make sure you look up what the locality pay is for your location. If there is a difference, then please let them know before you accept!
Hi GALeo and Reex2!
Congrats to you both! Philly is a very large city and you can get anywhere with convenience using public transportation. My housing advice in terms of the GS salary is to stay away from the heart of center city which is around 12-29th and market/chestnut/walnut street areas. The beautiful thing about Philadelphia is that it's home to a lot of universities which means there are always grad students looking for roommates. I'd suggest craigslist like previously mentioned for graduate housing. University City is located in West Philly and is a booming college and young professional area being that it's home to both University of Penn and Drexel. It can be a bit pricey but is by far one of the safest areas around and like I said, the roommate demand is always there. A good amount of home owners rent out their homes, or rooms as well but you'll want to be careful of the neighborhood. If possible i'd suggest you at least attempt to make one trip here to get a good lay of the land. This city if filled with sketchy areas but lots of hidden gems as well. I hope that helps!
Congrats on Nashville! I went to school there and you'll love it. I lived off campus the last two years, so pretty familiar with good housing, etc. I still have friends in the area who might have roommate ideas and actually I know a guy at Vanderbilt med school who did PHAP a year ago and might have good program advice. Message me if you're interested.I talked to someone from HR today and she told me that the position goes from a GS 5 to a 7 after the first year and a 9 upon completion of the program if we make satisfactory progress. This is the first year that they will be actively looking to hire participants of the program. The program has been restructured to make it a pipeline for Public Health Advisors. This makes it very important for us to be a proactive learner and receive good monthly reports that are sent to the CDC from our host sites. On another note, anyone going to Nashville and need a roommate let me know! Good luck to all and I look forward to meeting you all in November.
Done that. But the tentative letter really doesn't work for verification of employment. So I wonder how long before the true letter arrives. My contact person told me i had a start date of Oct 5 (-did everyone else get that). I need to start cancelling current lease, organizing movers, finding apts - just like the rest of you.... I don't know that another few weeks delay will allow us to get everything done in time. And I read on last year's site that CDC does background checks and requires fingerprints. Has anyone been told that this year. How does getting that all done fit in with getting a letter in time to get moved. Aggh. This is just silly.I know it is tough, but I suggest patience. I have been dealing with the HR rep who sent me my tenitive offer. I was also told that I would not receive an official offer until they receive my official transcript. Talking to a random person from HR will not help. We are all assigned to someone from HR. Some just work faster than others. When you get your tenitive offer and a contact to send transcript, send it ASAP. This will get you an offer sooner than later.....atleast in theory. lol
I also received a tentative offer with the incorrect salary. I checked to make sure the county I will be in is included in the locality pay and it is. I responded to the HR rep that sent my tentative offer but have not heard back and I do not want to accept the offer until this is resolved which is prolonging the next steps in the process.
I was also expecting the tentative offer to at least be in a separate document on letterhead so that I could TRY to use it as verification of employment. @PHhopeful I was told my start date is October 6th which is quickly approaching!
Did you all receive your tentative offer after requesting it from the housing letter resource they provided, because I haven't even received the tentative and it seems like everyone else has.
I am with you , no letter yet as of right now ! Hopefully soon....Did you all receive your tentative offer after requesting it from the housing letter resource they provided, because I haven't even received the tentative and it seems like everyone else has.
I got a reply from HR about my salary being lower than I thought. The response I got was "Please be advised, the letter you received from the PHAP Office is a tentative offer. The Human Resources Office is in the process of making the final commitment/offer within 2 weeks."
I guess it will be corrected in the official offer letter?
So did you go ahead and accept the tentative offer with the discrepancy?
GALeo and Reex2
I'm from Decatur and also got placed in Philadelphia. Maybe there is something to that hypothesis.
Hey! Wow that's great. I'm about to PM you.
Lucky you guys are all together! I am from Henry County, GA and I am placed in Raleigh. So far I think I am the only person in Raleigh in the thread.
Thanks lanc123. I would greatly appreciate your insight. PM sent.Congrats on Nashville! I went to school there and you'll love it. I lived off campus the last two years, so pretty familiar with good housing, etc. I still have friends in the area who might have roommate ideas and actually I know a guy at Vanderbilt med school who did PHAP a year ago and might have good program advice. Message me if you're interested.
I received a link this morning from my HR rep to start the hiring process, it is called the on boarding invitation. The link includes questions to fill out such as health benefits, retirement, tax withholding etc. Once the questions are answered hire forms will come up related to life insurance, beneficiary, etc. In the email that was given an ambiguous answer about the timeline.
"Employment verification and exact duty location will be given once you have cleared security and effective date has been established, which will be in the near future"
How long did it take after you sent your transcripts to get that email?I received a link this morning from my HR rep to start the hiring process, it is called the on boarding invitation. The link includes questions to fill out such as health benefits, retirement, tax withholding etc. Once the questions are answered hire forms will come up related to life insurance, beneficiary, etc. In the email that was given an ambiguous answer about the timeline.
"Employment verification and exact duty location will be given once you have cleared security and effective date has been established, which will be in the near future"
How long did it take after you sent your transcripts to get that email?
That's annoying. Did they clarify yet?Was anyone else given a different location in their tentative offer email than originally told with the first rep? I'm not sure if they've placed me somewhere different by accident or if the original Rep told me the wrong location. I'm still waiting for their response.
Did you receive this after accepting the tentative offer? Is so, how long after accepting did you receive the link for the hiring process?
Sorry for all the questions just trying to gain some insight!
How long did it take after you sent your transcripts to get that email?
How long did it take after you sent your transcripts to get that email?
That's annoying. Did they clarify yet?
Yes I received this information the next day after accepting the tentative offer. No problem, we all
No problem, I understand I ask questions too so we can all be better informed. I received the link the day after I received my tentative offer. I was able to get my transcript to them fast because I have a digital official transcript so I just replied to the tentative offer within 30 minutes with my transcript.
I would like to ask if you all have received the official offer letter? I haven't received mine...
Also, do we send in all transcripts with degree or just the most recent one with degree?
Thank you
I heard that happened to someone last year too. Maybe you'll end up with a choice? - At some stage, you're going to have to start on leases, etc. How can you do that with no definite info?That's annoying. Did they clarify yet?
Anybody else send their transcript off last week and still not heard anything? I've emailed and called with no response.
Sounds like we may have the same HR person. Maybe she was out of office this week. This is a bad time to be doing so. I really want to have everything done by the end of the month so that I can find a place. This has been the longest process ever!!!!I'm in the same boat. Replied to their email last week and had my university send a digital transcript. I'm a little nervous because my transcript came with a tracking and so far my transcript has been sent but it hasn't been opened by the HR person who sent me the tentative offer.