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 (330) , Graduate Research Assistant (162) , Teaching Assistant (162) , Graduate Student (150) , PhD Student (145) , Postdoctoral Research Scientist (95) , Administrative Assistant (79) , Graduate Teaching Assistant (78) , Postdoctoral Fellow (74) , Associate Research Scientist (72) , Assistant Director (66) , Director (56) , Postdoctoral Researcher (54) , Associate Director (45) , Researcher (45)

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 482 reviews)); "The people are great and it's a pleasure to work with students" ((in 314 reviews)); "Flexibility and good work life balance" ((in 128 reviews)); "Flexible hours and in an understanding environment while being able to develop real world skills." ((in 118 reviews)); "The campus is beautiful and being in an academic environment in NYC is wonderful" ((in 84 reviews))

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

"The pay can be low and slow" ((in 303 reviews)); "low salary very far from my home not much increase yearly not much chances of growth departments are not well interconnected" ((in 271 reviews)); "extremely low on pay and poor management" ((in 110 reviews)); "Senior leadership can be difficult to deal with." ((in 38 reviews)); "If you get a bad manager, not much can be done." ((in 35 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.

Columbia University reviews

4.0

65% would recommend to a friend

(5,428 total reviews)

Lee C. Bollinger

60% approve of CEO

51% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Columbia University has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 5,428 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).

Reviews by job title

5K reviews

3.0

Mar 28, 2012

Good work environment, lots of deadweight

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Pleasant work environment. Friendly coworkers. Excellent benefits. Some managers and supervisors are excellent mentors. University area is full of interesting activities/restaurants/etc.

Cons

Lots of people don't pull their weight, which is OK since many areas are overstaffed. Salaries are very not standardized--be sure to negotiate well and do your research before accepting a number if hired

4.0

Mar 8, 2012

Overall pretty good

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Autonomous work environment; Great benefits; Mission driven work; Very collaborative work environment; Community oriented; Good learning opportunities; Hands-on learning opportunities; Diverse, accomplished, intelligent co-workers

Cons

Not much opportunity for growth or promotions or salary increases if one doesn't have a higher degree; Lack of mentoring; Very limited professional development opportunities; Often a work overload

2.0

Mar 8, 2012

Average, Could be better

Assistant professor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

freedom, flexibility, quality of life - As in most academia.

Cons

Boredom, politics, red tape, big egos

Viewing 5275 - 5277 of 5,428 Reviews

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Jobs at Columbia University

Adjunct Lecturer, Solving Real World Problems with Analytics (ONLINE - Summer/Fall '26)

Adjunct Lecturer, Applied Deep Learning and AI (On-Campus, Fall '26)