Does Columbia University pay their employees well?

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

How satisfied are employees working at Columbia University?

65% of Columbia University employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Columbia University 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.6 for culture and values and 3.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Columbia University?

Research Assistant (329) , Teaching Assistant (162) , Graduate Research Assistant (161) , Graduate Student (150) , PhD Student (144) , Postdoctoral Research Scientist (94) , Administrative Assistant (78) , Graduate Teaching Assistant (78) , Postdoctoral Fellow (73) , Associate Research Scientist (70) , Assistant Director (66) , Director (55) , Postdoctoral Researcher (51) , Associate Director (45) , Program Coordinator (44)

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

"Columbia and the Business School are great to work for because of the benefits and the people." ((in 495 reviews)); "The people are great and it's a pleasure to work with students" ((in 335 reviews)); "Great colleagues and talent employed" ((in 152 reviews)); "Flexible hours and in an understanding environment while being able to develop real world skills." ((in 117 reviews)); "Flexibility and good work life balance" ((in 110 reviews))

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

"The pay can be low and slow" ((in 291 reviews)); "Salaries in the teaching and research tracks are low compared to private industry; many positions depend on grant funding." ((in 268 reviews)); "extremely low on pay and poor management" ((in 108 reviews)); "Senior leadership can be difficult to deal with." ((in 38 reviews)); "If you get a bad manager, not much can be done." ((in 36 reviews))

What are employees saying about Columbia University layoffs in 2026?

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

Skip to content Skip to footer

Notifications

Columbia University

Columbia University reviews

Compare reviews

4.0

65% would recommend to a friend

(5,406 total reviews)

Lee C. Bollinger

60% approve of CEO

51% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.0

Diversity & inclusion

3.8

Work/Life balance

3.7

Career opportunities

3.6

Culture & values

3.6

Compensation and benefits

3.4

Senior management

Columbia University has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 5,406 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Columbia 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

5K reviews

3.0

Jan 25, 2023

Really kind people but team is understaffed

Department administrator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I loved worked for the university and the people I worked with were very kind and supportive.

Cons

However the workload was completely unmanageable. I felt like I was working three jobs in one and when I tried to express my concerns regarding this, HR just told me that maybe this wasn't a good fit. I was trying to explain that they needed to hire more people to help support the team so the workload could be distributed evenly but they just insisted it was a fit issue and didn't recognize how unreasonable it was to ask someone to take on so much work.

3.0

Dec 9, 2022

Stepping stone to get a fully funded master’s degree

Executive director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

All around excellent benefits including generous PTO and education subsidies.

Cons

Many pockets of bureaucratic inefficiency, sub-par performance, and poor management.

1.0

Nov 16, 2022

Please go somewhere other than the Center for Liver Disease

Administrative aide

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Decent benefits but don't expect raises

Cons

I've worked here for some time and I will say that this place is so toxic. Manager barely speaks to you unless there is something wrong, Director always has some snarky remarks and the doctors go above and beyond to blame everything and anything on you without trying to understand the root of the problem. Healthcare in the last 2 years has become overwhelming in general but working in an environment where you're not valued makes it 10x worst

Viewing 40 - 42 of 5,406 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

UC San Diego

3.6★Compensation & Benefits

Texila American University

3.8★Compensation & Benefits

Jobs at Columbia University

Administrative Assistant

Administrative Assistant

Part-Time Academic Secretary

Administrative Assistant

Columbia University reviews FAQs

Reviews Columbia University reviews

Columbia University

Columbia University reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Really kind people but team is understaffed

Stepping stone to get a fully funded master’s degree

Please go somewhere other than the Center for Liver Disease

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at Columbia University

Columbia University reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Columbia University reviews FAQs

Jobs at Columbia University