Pros
5 weeks vacation Conveniently located by the 1 train Decent enough medical coverage but be sure to ask for your policy and read the fine print. EHS Department gives food very frequently during "feasts", meeting free day, or tabling events Employees in other departments are very nice
Cons
Be aware if you are applying to the environmental health and safety department (EHS) for laboratory Safety at medical center, morningside heights or Manhattanville campus. There is very high turnover; average 1 person per month in a department of about 45 people. The Vice President doesn't have EHS experience so that is a problem. She is a physician assistant by trade. She terrorizes people; everyone is afraid of her and if she doesn't like you, they build a case against you to get rid of you or push you enough for you to want to quit. Then there is the Executive Director. I am unsure of his qualifications because whenever there is an issue, it is deferred to lower ranking people. He is very hot and cold and sometimes childish. He's loud and likes to take up space and take over meetings, almost like a bully. One team has a director other than the executive director but each team has a manager, some teams have associate managers, each team has senior specialists and then there are regular safety specialists and associate specialists. Basically, there are too many bosses and not enough workers. All of the work gets pushed to the safety specialists and associate Specialists. People get burned out and become very unhappy early on. The managers do not perform safety work in the laboratories but rather focus all of their attention on the new software issues and bugs. They force us to use iPads in the fields to do surveys, but connectivity is a big issue around campus. Management is passive aggressive and thrive when people are uncomfortable/unhappy. They do not like to see people friendly with each other and seek to break friendships. The offices are usually very quiet and oppressive. It is as if there is a blanket of unhappiness in the office. They force you to volunteer to host events, answer phones or run workgroups. If you don't "volunteer" they make you look bad and you can get in trouble especially during performance management season. They favor those employees who volunteer and they are rewarded greatly. It is hard to feel motivated at a hostile work environment so usually many people do not like to volunteer. It is just added work and they want you to finish everything on time even if you have more on your plate. They show favoritism; people get promoted even if they do not have a lot of experience or if they never did "grunt work". If you are a workaholic or if you fit their mold or if KC the VP likes you, then you can move up but your subordinates won't have respect for you. There is unlimited sick time but if you use it they shame you. An email is sent out to the entire department notifying everyone that you called in sick. If you do not call in sick at all during the year, there is a special luncheon, an incentive, for those with perfect attendance. During this lunch which is very akward, the VP tauts hers and the participants "Superior Genes" and how they don't get sick. This is a bold face lie because the VP gets sick as do the others at this lunch. This encourages people to come to work sick and employees stay sick for weeks and up to a month because we are afraid to use sick time when we need to. They want robots not human beings with issues, health problems, families and other priorities. Columbia also does not offer tuition reimbursement if you attend another school. If you go to Columbia then your education is paid for but then you receive the indoctrination. I don't regret applying and working for the EHS Department because I'm using this job as a steppingstone, but I will definitely not stay here longer than a couple of years. That seems to be the average length of time before you can't take it anymore and want out of this department. Many employees have moved to the Facilities EHS Department as the pay is better and they are generally treated a little better than us.
