Member Roadmap / Quiz Result / The W2 Climber
Your PHC Persona

You are

The W2 Climber

Staying in PH employment — going for director / VP, or rebuilding after a federal / state exit but staying inside public health.

11-step roadmap Director / VP target
Your framework · Step 01

Scaling to 6 Figures in Public Health — the Blueprint.

Dr. Des's three‑strategy framework for getting to 6 figures in PH: pivot, advance in role, or consult. You're focused on Strategy #2 — advance in role. Start your roadmap here so the rest of the steps (resume, networking, PMP, board seat) all map back to a clear pathway. Included with your PHC membership.

WATCH THE BLUEPRINT Included with membership
Before you start · Orientation

First, get oriented.

Every PHC member begins here. These onboarding pieces show you how to navigate the Club and hand you a curated, track-specific roadmap before you take Step 1. Click any button below to open that resource inside the Club — you'll need to be signed in.

Tip: Bookmark each workshop in your Club dashboard as you open it — you'll come back to most of these more than once. Use the bookmark icon in the top-right of every Circle post.

Watch first
New Member Orientation Dr. Des's 26-minute walkthrough of the Club.
Open in Club
Then read
Mid-Senior Professionals Roadmap Your track-specific roadmap — a companion to this page.
Open in Club
Also read · 0–3 yrs
Student & Early Career Roadmap Foundational early-career content still applies — even if your end-state isn't strictly emerging professional.
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Career Coaches
Our team of career coaches PHC's career coaches can help you think through promotions, leadership transitions, workplace dynamics, and rebuilding after a federal or state exit. RSVP to the next mentorship session in the Club.
RSVP in Club
Earn points
Gamification & live leaderboard See how points work and what's currently on the leaderboard.
How it works
Monthly free
This month's free resource PHC drops a new free resource each month — sent via DM and posted in-community. Download before month-end or you'll need to purchase it.
Open the Club
Where you are right now

Ready to lead.

  • Inside W2 public health — state, nonprofit, hospital, academic, foundation, or federal / federally-funded — and wanting to lead within the field.
  • You may be climbing in a stable role, or navigating a federal / state exit (laid off or anticipating one) and choosing to stay in PH — a different agency, nonprofit, foundation, or hospital.
  • Often a manager already, stuck below director / VP — or rebuilding after losing a senior federal role.
  • Cares deeply about mission and wants 6‑figure compensation in a stable W2 PH role.
Your full vision · the broader picture

Where you'll be.

  • Promotion to director, VP, or chief — or a parallel role with a $25K+ pay bump (or replacement of federal income).
  • Build a results‑driven resume aligned to the specific role you want next.
  • Earn the PMP or another credential that signals senior capability.
  • Sit on a board or advisory committee to expand your influence.
⚡Your first 90 days · If you're on an urgent timeline

A quarter to a real promotion conversation.

For those climbing in current role or rebuilding after a federal / state exit but staying in PH.

Your goals above are the broader vision. If you picked a 90‑day timeline, here's the focused play depending on your situation:

If you're climbing in a current role: have ONE concrete promotion conversation with your manager this month — use the Scaling to 6 Figures Blueprint (Step 1) to frame it. If you're rebuilding after a federal or state exit: AI‑rewrite your resume (Steps 4–5) and apply to 2 stretch PH roles via Career Advancement Opportunities (Step 11) by week 6. Either path: complete Steps 1–5 of your roadmap by day 90.

Step 01 · Blueprint (frame the conversation) Wk 6 · AI resume + 2 stretch role applications Day 90 · Steps 1–5 complete Goal: a real promotion conversation in motion
Your sequenced PHC roadmap

Eleven steps,
in order.

Items are sequenced — earlier steps unlock later ones. Click any title to open it inside Circle (you'll need to be logged in as a PHC member). Check each one off as you go.

0 / 11
Begin with Step 01
  1. 01
    Workshop Included

    Scaling to 6 Figures in Public Health: The Blueprint

    Dr. Des's three-strategy framework — pivot, advance in role, or consult. You're focused on Strategy #2 (advance in role). Start here so the rest of your roadmap maps back to a clear pathway.

    Open in the Club
  2. 02
    Quiz Free

    Public Health Ideal Career Quiz

    If you're not 100% sure which PH subsector to climb in — state health vs. hospital vs. foundation vs. academic — take this quiz first. Free, tailored to your skills and values.

    Open in the Club
  3. 03
    Resource Free · shareable

    Federal Exit Blueprint

    If you're navigating a federal or state exit but staying in PH, read this in week one — permanently free and shareable. If you're climbing inside a stable role, skip to Step 4.

    Open in the Club
  4. 04
    Workshop Included

    Resume Development Workshop

    Foundation for any leadership resume. Slides + template available in the comments.

    Open in the Club
  5. 05
    Workshop Included

    Building a Results-Driven Resume with AI

    Upgrade your resume into impact-bullet, ATS-aware leadership language. Especially fast for federal-exit folks needing resume translation.

    Open in the Club
  6. 06
    Workshop Included

    Digital Portfolio Workshop

    A polished digital portfolio is a differentiator at director / VP level — especially when you're competing with candidates who only have a resume.

    Open in the Club
  7. 07
    Workshop Included

    Networking in Public Health Workshop

    Promotions, parallel pay bumps, and landing your next PH employer after a federal exit are ALL network-driven. Intentional networking compounds.

    Open in the Club
  8. 08
    Workshop Included

    How PH Pros Use PMP to Secure Bigger Roles

    PMP, CAPM, Lean Six Sigma, CPHQ — which credential maps to your next role?

    Open in the Club
  9. 09
    Workshop Included

    Becoming a Board Member + Clinical Trials

    Board seats accelerate director / VP candidacy. Worth pursuing now.

    Open in the Club
  10. 10
    Resource Paid

    Salary Negotiation Templates

    Even W2 raises (and offer letters at your next PH employer) are negotiable — most PH professionals leave money on the table.

    Open in the Club
  11. 11
    Live Space

    Career Advancement Opportunities

    Use it for stretch lateral moves, board seats, and fellowships (HRSA, PMF, ORISE) — fellowships often pay better than first jobs and are perfect bridge moves for federal-exit-staying-in-PH folks.

    Open in the Club
Four PHC members wearing The Public Health Club and Public Health Hustler sweatshirts.
You're not doing this alone

900+ ambitious public health hustlers.

PHC is a working community — not a content library. Other Aspiring Consultants are inside the Club this week, comparing rate cards, swapping RFPs, and trading wins. Find them in the Consulting space.

  • 900+ Public Health Hustlers
  • 110+ Workshops on Demand
  • 88 /mo RFPs posted each month
Even more inside the Club

Keep exploring.

After you've finished these steps, browse the Workshops on Demand space anytime to dig deeper by interest. A few directions worth considering:

Every week

RSVP to Live Workshops & Events.

New workshops, career clinics, and Awareness in 30 sessions drop every week. You may find something that lines up exactly with where you are.

See this week's calendar
Your next move

Scaling to 6 Figures in PH

Dr. Des's three‑strategy blueprint — you're on path #2, advance in role.

The framework that maps everything else in this roadmap to a clear pathway: pivot, advance in role, or consult. Watch this first — then use the rest of your roadmap to execute. If you're navigating a federal or state exit, also grab the free Federal Exit Blueprint first.

WATCH THE BLUEPRINT
Included with membership · Built with Dr. Des and the PHC team