2022 PHAP (CDC's Public Health Associate Program)

[Stephania Casimir]

I called

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[MatchaG1rl]

I called

Thank you! Hope we get accepted 🤞🏽

 

[Stephania Casimir]

Were you called to send an essay?

 

[ae127]

I think if you pass to the next phase of the process you’ll get an email from the program and if not you’ll get an email from the USAJob site.

I hope folks hear back something this week! Good luck everyone!

 

[Stephania Casimir]

Hey @ae127, did you hear from them yet?

 

[ae127]

Hey @ae127, did you hear from them yet?

I haven’t heard anything, but I hope we’ll hear something this week.

 

[Stephania Casimir]

🤞

 

[InBrightestJay]

🤞🤞🤞

 

[quince]

i don't know how to interpret this, but i just checked the PHAP website, and they've already updated to "The 2023 Associate and Host Site application cycles open January 2023."

 

[Stephania Casimir]

That's crazy

 

[Stephania Casimir]

So, I guess we didn't make jt

 

[quince]

So, I guess we didn't make jt

the pessimistic part of me agrees, and the optimistic part of me says to wait for the official rejection letter that they apparently do make sure to send out (based on previous years) before jumping to that conclusion

 

[Stephania Casimir]

I just contacted HR and they told me that they are still rating applications. Many applicants apply to the program that's why they are taking so long.

 

[peace777]

the pessimistic part of me agrees, and the optimistic part of me says to wait for the official rejection letter that they apparently do make sure to send out (based on previous years) before jumping to that conclusion

Did you get to the personal statement submission part or are you waiting for an interview?

 

[Stephania Casimir]

Personal statement submission part I'm waiting.

 

[Stephania Casimir]

This is my chance to get the experience I need to embark on my dream job.

 

[ae127]

If it is anything like last year they will send out emails asking for the personal statements and as they select those who move to interview phase they will also send out notifications about not being selected.

Since I do not see a lot of folks saying they received an email for the personal statements coupled with Stephania’a statement above, we all still have a chance. So don’t give up! If you don’t make it this year, try again next year.

Stay positive my friends and here’s hoping we hear something tomorrow!

 

[mmmvvv]

I definitely think that more emails will be sent out. This group is not as active as previous years, but I imagine that there would be more traffic if more people received emails? I received an email for personal statements on April 6 and after submitting, it said I would hear back in late-April if selected for an interview. I will keep updating as I hear more but stay positive! Wishing everyone the best of luck.

 

[whatwegonedonow]

I’m gonna let y’all know right now, this program is terrible. If you have literally any other options I strongly encourage you to pursue those. If you wanna go ahead and do this program anyway I hope you’ve put away a few grand or have family who can afford to spot you

 

[MatchaG1rl]

I’m gonna let y’all know right now, this program is terrible. If you have literally any other options I strongly encourage you to pursue those. If you wanna go ahead and do this program anyway I hope you’ve put away a few grand or have family who can afford to spot you

Can you elaborate more about it? Where were you positioned? Don’t have much public health experience so I might have to do this if I can’t find something else :/

 

[CAphanatic]

I’m gonna let y’all know right now, this program is terrible. If you have literally any other options I strongly encourage you to pursue those. If you wanna go ahead and do this program anyway I hope you’ve put away a few grand or have family who can afford to spot you

Are you going to elaborate? Is this based entirely on the salary? Bad supervisor? Program Area you weren’t interested in? Geographic region not to your liking? Are you even in the program? Based on your posts from last year you didn’t get in. Were you matched late?

 

[Adora_o]

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I just checked the portal and it seems to have been updated to "interview", but I haven't got an email about anything yet. Wishing us all the best of luck.

 

[InBrightestJay]

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I just checked the portal and it seems to have been updated to "interview", but I haven't got an email about anything yet. Wishing us all the best of luck.

Congrats! Me too. I just checked my email as well but no email yet. I’m hoping it’s not an error.

 

[mmmvvv]

Congratulations to the both of you! You had me checking my portal so fast. Lol. I haven't gotten an email but also have the interview option for my account, however, I am unable to schedule anything. I really hope this is not an error! 😅 Best of luck to everyone!!!

 

[Tcr99]

Hey everyone, I'm a current PHAP from the 2021 class. I remember how stressful it was during the entire application process so I thought I would jump on here to answer some questions and share my experience in the program so far.

Firstly I would say that this program is definitely not for everyone. The workload varies greatly depending on your host site and subject area, and is largely dependent on your host site supervisor. I would say the program feels alot more like being an employee of your host site than a CDC employee. This is why you might run into people who have had wildly different experiences with the PHAP program. The pay for the program is a GS-5 for the first year before increasing to a GS-7 the second year. Additionally there is a locality adjustment for the geographic area where you work which varies. If you google "OPM GS pay calculator" you can see what you would be making in any given location. In my case I take home about $1200 per paycheck when all is said an done. This is not a huge issue for me as I am a single person with no student loan debt and 3 other roommates. I recognize that not everyone is in the same financial and life situation I am, so I urge you to consider the financial aspect of becoming a PHAP.

As far as relocating expenses, PHAP does not cover these in a majority of situations. The only exception during my year was for PHAPs placed in Alaska, Hawaii, USVI, Guam, and Saipan. These associates had their flights to their host sites paid for and had the option to ship some household goods to their new places. Please keep in mind that you need to be able to cover your expenses until your first paycheck. I arrived at my host site on Oct 1, started working on Oct 12 and didn't get paid for a week or two so there was about a month I had to cover my expenses in my new city.

The application process is tedious and mentally brutal but I encourage you all to relax and take the information as it comes. The people who called the office everyday were no better off than the people who didn't. Checking my email and once a day worked for me and also helped me manage the stress of being left in limbo.

Finally I will leave you with my personal experience. This program from the time I applied to about three months in was extremely stressful and bogged down with red tape. At times I was cursing the CDC and at times I wish I felt a little more like a member of CDC. Sometimes I wish I made a little more money for the amount of work and stress I have to deal with. All that being said I feel this program has been truly phenomenal for me in terms of personal and professional growth. I enjoy the work I do, I love the place I moved to, and I have met some amazing and inspiring people. My host site supervisor is fantastic and the host site is great to. I feel the CDC could be a little more involved but I am not sure what I expected in that respect. All in all I don't think I would recommend this program to everyone, but I am beyond satisfied with my decision to accept my offer.

Please if you have any questions ask them here or PM me!

 

[peace777]

Hi all, I have been frantically checking my portal and of course the one day I didn't check my portal my status changed to "Interview." Lol. I think my status must have changed yesterday.

Just a reminder that I didn't get any email about this as well, but if you click on "Interview" it will open up and I was able to schedule a slot. And it said I have only 2 hours to submit my time slot so I panicked and did it quickly .

So hurry if your portal was changed to Interview!

 

[mmmvvv]

Hi all, I have been frantically checking my portal and of course the one day I didn't check my portal my status changed to "Interview." Lol. I think my status must have changed yesterday.

Just a reminder that I didn't get any email about this as well, but if you click on "Interview" it will open up and I was able to schedule a slot. And it said I have only 2 hours to submit my time slot so I panicked and did it quickly .

So hurry if your portal was changed to Interview!

This message also had me running to my portal. Lol. Those timers add so much more stress to the process. Lol.

 

[peace777]

This message also had me running to my portal. Lol. Those timers add so much more stress to the process. Lol.

Lol yes! Did you have a 2 hour timer too

 

[InBrightestJay]

I just received the email to schedule an interview (but I had already scheduled after seeing the posts here).

 

[yellowsun100]

Hi everyone! I just got my email this morning and also scheduled my interview. The website said to make sure I clicked Submit but I didn't have a submit button, only a 'save changes' button, so I hope that saved my time slot! Good luck to everyone else!

 

[peace777]

Hi everyone! I just got my email this morning and also scheduled my interview. The website said to make sure I clicked Submit but I didn't have a submit button, only a 'save changes' button, so I hope that saved my time slot! Good luck to everyone else!

I would suggest you close the browser and use a different browser and check if it has a submit button. When I hit submit the first time it didn't happen, so I had to do it again.

 

[Adora_o]

Hello everyone. I got the email too! Wishing us all the best.

 

[yellowsun100]

I would suggest you close the browser and use a different browser and check if it has a submit button. When I hit submit the first time it didn't happen, so I had to do it again.

Thank you so much!! You were right, the submit button appeared after I closed and reopened the browser. Thank you!

 

[peace777]

Just updating everyone that I got the email few hours ago too!

 

[peace777]

Thank you so much!! You were right, the submit button appeared after I closed and reopened the browser. Thank you!

No problem, glad you were able to submit on time!

 

[MatchaG1rl]

Anyone still waiting to hear if they made it to the personal statement round? My status still says received.

 

[Nessa123]

Anyone still waiting to hear if they made it to the personal statement round? My status still says received.

Yes, my status still says "reviewing applications". When I called, they said that it's possible that they will be working on matching candidates through September, so don't lose hope! Congrats to everyone who made it through to the interview rounds. Good luck!

 

[julieung]

My status also still says received so hopefully we'll hear something!!

 

[whatwegonedonow]

Are you going to elaborate? Is this based entirely on the salary? Bad supervisor? Program Area you weren’t interested in? Geographic region not to your liking? Are you even in the program? Based on your posts from last year you didn’t get in. Were you matched late?

Ouch? Anyway, I did get matched late. My host site is okay but it certainly wasn’t the experince I signed up for. Myself and many others have really had to fight to get adequate/meaningful work (vs the flip of associates who were given way too much work for how much were paid). And we’re going through a terrible time with administration at the moment. They’re unresponsive and extremely dismissive. Should you have a terrible host site or get a terrible supervisor, 8/10 times you’re gonna be on your own. As for the pay it’s terrible but if you have parents who can provide financial support I guess it doesn’t matter. If not, expect to need a second job. OPM is not gonna give you a clear idea of how much you’ll ACTUALLY be getting paid. If I had known what I know now I absolutely wouldn’t have applied, let alone accepted. And relax, you seem kinda rude but you might just be a generally abrasive person…

 

[whatwegonedonow]

Can you elaborate more about it? Where were you positioned? Don’t have much public health experience so I might have to do this if I can’t find something else :/

Hey! I actually completely forgot about this but I didn’t have much public health experience either. The program can be beneficial but I wouldn’t move across the country for it (which I did). Try looking into local/state health departments or even go back to school for an MPH. You’ll get the same work experience but be paid much better pretty much any where you go. I posted a little more about it an earlier response too. I would just weigh your options! Some people do have great experiences but the number of people with terrible ones is pretty significant, I wanted y’all to know😭

 

[Adora_o]

I am not sure if I submitted my interview time correctly. I picked a time and saved it, but didn't realize we had to submit it until later. The submitted entry now says "Taken". So has it been taken by me or by someone else?

 

[MatchaG1rl]

My status also still says received so hopefully we'll hear something!!

I hope so too 🤞🏽 Glad I’m not alone

 

[MatchaG1rl]

Yes, my status still says "reviewing applications". When I called, they said that it's possible that they will be working on matching candidates through September, so don't lose hope! Congrats to everyone who made it through to the interview rounds. Good luck!

That’s a relief. Thank you and good luck to you too!

 

[MatchaG1rl]

Hey! I actually completely forgot about this but I didn’t have much public health experience either. The program can be beneficial but I wouldn’t move across the country for it (which I did). Try looking into local/state health departments or even go back to school for an MPH. You’ll get the same work experience but be paid much better pretty much any where you go. I posted a little more about it an earlier response too. I would just weigh your options! Some people do have great experiences but the number of people with terrible ones is pretty significant, I wanted y’all to know😭

Thank you for the advice. That sounds like a really bad situation. I’ve been applying to my state health department and other local organizations for months but it’s so competitive here in Atlanta. I’ll be attending an MPH program in a year or two from now. Gonna keep applying to other jobs in the meantime.

 

[environmentalhopeful]

I did PHAP a while ago and just wanted to give some feedback too A lot of people go into it thinking it's a "CDC job" and that you'll be working on CDC projects and end up disappointed! PHAP is basically a way to get experience at local and state health departments for people who otherwise would be having trouble getting those jobs without work experience. Your experience will be completely dependent on your host site. Some people get placed in bad host sites and others get amazing experience! I was very lucky and got placed in a host site where I ended up having more than enough work and worked on fairly high-level projects. Unfortunately you won't really know how your experience will be until you show up. PHAP leadership I don't think takes a hands-on enough approach with the host site application process and coordinating with the host sites to ensure work is being done and definitely agree with the other commenter that the PHAP supervisors are not very involved, so if you get a bad host site unfortunately sometimes you're stuck. I really wish the program would focus on placing people in high-quality, local health departments and take out the state/non-profit placements (sometimes they can be great, but I just think the best experiences are available to entry-level staff at local health departments. You're just not likely to be doing high-level, meaningful work at a state health department that employs 1,000s of people!)

Depending on where you get placed, the salary can be tough, but honestly I found it was pretty doable (I had no parental support and was able to live in a studio by myself and save money every month, but also do not have kids or anything). Once you get to a GS-7 salary in your second year, it's actually a pretty good salary for anyone working in a social services field. My first year I was making the same amount as many more experienced people employed by my health department and by my second year, I was making more than them. So sometimes it can be a little tone deaf to complain about the salary. For people placed in California/New York where salaries tend to be higher, you'll definitely be making way less than your host site colleagues. But public health is not a well-paid field and honestly I find it a fair salary for someone with zero experience. If I had been placed in CA with host site colleagues making much more than me, I might feel differently, but I think it's important to keep that perspective that depending on your host site, you may be making more than your host site supervisor your second year.

I recommend the program to people who either 1) Are a recent undergrad and otherwise are having a hard time finding a job at a local/state health department and getting good work experience or 2) Are dead set on wanting to end up as a Public Health Advisor at CDC (it's not a guarantee you'll get hired on as a permanent CDC staff member at the end of PHAP, but you have a wayyy better chance of that than applying to CDC as a member of the public on usajobs). If you don't care too much about ending up at CDC and have other permanent offers to work in state/local health departments (or private sector, etc), then I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing PHAP.

 

[CAphanatic]

Ouch? Anyway, I did get matched late. My host site is okay but it certainly wasn’t the experince I signed up for. Myself and many others have really had to fight to get adequate/meaningful work (vs the flip of associates who were given way too much work for how much were paid). And we’re going through a terrible time with administration at the moment. They’re unresponsive and extremely dismissive. Should you have a terrible host site or get a terrible supervisor, 8/10 times you’re gonna be on your own. As for the pay it’s terrible but if you have parents who can provide financial support I guess it doesn’t matter. If not, expect to need a second job. OPM is not gonna give you a clear idea of how much you’ll ACTUALLY be getting paid. If I had known what I know now I absolutely wouldn’t have applied, let alone accepted. And relax, you seem kinda rude but you might just be a generally abrasive person…

I don’t think so. Just seemed weird you basically did a hit and run, had some very hot takes, and didn’t elaborate at all. You were very active in the forums last year and I didn’t see anywhere that said you matched. I appreciate the feedback. Sorry phap wasn’t great for you.

 

[GradCurious411]

Overall I would recommend the PHAP program. Of course your experience is dependent upon your host site, but if you're wanting public health experience or wanting to get your foot in the door for CDC positions, this program would be a good fit for you. My host site also offers a lot of opportunities for me to grow and learn. Of course I had challenges along the way such as moving to a city I never heard of, adjusting personally and professionally to an environment that I was not use to, not making great money (I have a lot of financial support from family), and trying to learn the ropes of my new position. Also trying to juggle both host site duties and CDC duties (lots of webinars, paperwork, and trainings) were challenging the first few months but now it is routine. Side note: even though you are a federal employee you will feel more like an employee of your host site since 90% of what you're doing on a daily basis is just that. If you ask two different people what their experience with PHAP is, you'll get two very different answers. Do your research, check out previous online forums, and ask specific questions to current and previous PHAPers to determine if this program would be a good fit for you.

 

[quince]

an update that I received the declination letter, saying that "GS-0685-5; You were not considered because you did not submit all required documents and/or they were not in English as specified in the announcement." which... I most certainly did submit all required documents, all of which were in English :') I guess they're starting to send out rejection letters though now, folks.

 

[MatchaG1rl]

an update that I received the declination letter, saying that "GS-0685-5; You were not considered because you did not submit all required documents and/or they were not in English as specified in the announcement." which... I most certainly did submit all required documents, all of which were in English :') I guess they're starting to send out rejection letters though now, folks.

Maybe try contacting HR to see what is was that you were missing.

 

[MatchaG1rl]

I just got a notification saying I’m eligible but wasn’t referred. Was hoping this could give me more public health experience.
The local public health jobs are so competitive where I live. Does anyone have any advice on how to improve my application for next time apart from getting more experience?