Does Boston University pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Boston University employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Boston University. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Boston University?

81% of Boston University employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Boston University 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Boston University?

Research Assistant (292) , Teaching Assistant (118) , Graduate Student (99) , Graduate Research Assistant (82) , Graduate Teaching Assistant (63) , Office Assistant (62) , PhD Student (61) , Administrative Assistant (38) , Student Worker (35) , Assistant Director (34) , Program Manager (32) , Postdoctoral Fellow (29) , PhD Graduate Student (27) , Postdoctoral Associate (27) , PhD Candidate (26)

What are the pros of working at Boston University according to real employee reviews?

"Good benefits and on campus housing" ((in 287 reviews)); "great research environment and people" ((in 211 reviews)); "As an intern usually faculty are award of your situation and allow you flexible hours." ((in 112 reviews)); "Great work life balance and care." ((in 74 reviews)); "Great community and colleagues." ((in 67 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Boston University according to real employee reviews?

"Low pay and some of the entry level coworker are not very professional" ((in 241 reviews)); "Low salary for research scientist (social sciences); job insecurity due to soft funding" ((in 150 reviews)); "management was poor and unorganized" ((in 59 reviews)); "Too spread out and little communication among labs." ((in 20 reviews)); "Low compensation and difficult to get raises" ((in 20 reviews))

What are employees saying about Boston University layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Boston University layoffs and their outlook for job security at Boston University in 2026.

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Boston University

Boston University reviews

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4.2

81% would recommend to a friend

(3,691 total reviews)

Dr. Melissa L. Gilliam

91% approve of CEO

64% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.1

Diversity & inclusion

4.1

Work/Life balance

4.0

Culture & values

3.8

Career opportunities

3.7

Senior management

3.6

Compensation and benefits

Boston University has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 3,691 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Boston University employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Educación industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

4K reviews

4.0

May 18, 2010

Pros and cons

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

BU offers it's employees a good quality of life, great product in category, and good benefits. Part of those good benefits include the option to continue your education, virtually free. The environment overall is friendly and not terribly stressful.

Cons

BU is behind even the rest of the education community in it's pay offerings. They may have a hard time keeping good talent if this continues to be the case. There doesn't appear to be room for career advancement within departments.

4.0

May 14, 2010

Be sure you like it - because you can't change it

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

For staff: generous retirement benefits, diverse jobs available, generally competitive salaries (for higher education). Good education benefits for self and dependents, some respect for work-life balance.

Cons

Highly bureaucratic top-down management styles pervade -- starting from the overall leadership of the university trickling on down into many groups and departments. The "BUreaucracy" may have changed faces and styles over the years but it is alive and well. Change can be hard to fund and harder still to implement unless it is a mandate from above -- and even those mandates are generally the work of years of consultants and committees. Not a dynamic environment.

3.0

Apr 24, 2010

Good place to work for a short period of time.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The benefits and tuition remission are great, and the atmosphere of a college campus is oftentimes a lot of fun.

Cons

From what I've seen, there is little to no chance to advance within some departments, especially since the hiring freeze in 2009.

Viewing 3670 - 3672 of 3,691 Reviews

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Jobs at Boston University

SENIOR CONSULTANT, DATA SOLUTIONS, Continuous Improvement & Data Analytics

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POLICE OFFICER I, BUPD University Police

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS, Communications

VETERINARY RESEARCH SUPPORT ASSISTANT, NEIDL, ARS NEIDL Max Containment

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Boston University

Boston University reviews

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Be sure you like it - because you can't change it

Good place to work for a short period of time.

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