Pros
The pros are fabulous here:
1. Benefits. Excellent, excellent benefits. Great, inexpensive health insurance with special access to Columbia affiliated doctors and dentists. after 2 years you get an amount equal to 5% of your salary automatically donated by the university into your retirement account. Free life insurance up to your salary amount, cheap additional life and disability insurance.
2. Vacation: 23 days. Reeeeeaaallly nice. And the relatively laid back atmosphere allows you to actually use your vacation. In the event you are laid off you get paid for your back vacation time which adds up to possibly and extra month's salary as a buffer while unemployed
3. Free tuition. I got my Masters here FREE. Did I mention free? free free free free. I never felt like the time off and the 50k in debt I would incur would justify my going on to a higher degree but I could do it part time here at no cost. Took my 4 years instead of 2 but it was completely worth it.
4. Perks: discounts, use of university facilities (cheap gym, etc), work-life programs like HR classes, financial education, help with a first mortgage, paying for 5k of adoption or childbirth fees.
5. Security. It's a place where it's hard to get fired. Not that this never happens but it's just not the cutthroat kind of atmosphere that you find in business. There are changes in administration from time to time, and new initiatives replacing old ones, but overall there's not a huge amount of turnover.
6. Cultural atmosphere. You're surrounded by interesting people and things and activities. Check out music, theater or lectures on campus. Overhear interesting conversations at lunch. Take a class just for the heck of it. Join a campus group (yes staff are often allowed to join). You can just keep learning and experiencing and trying things as much as you like.
Cons
Salary is low relative to the market.I get a higher salary than most for my job, because I am paid via fundraising and not the university pool. But as in many large institutions there are salary guidelines strictly adhered to. I'd probably be making 70k here at this title. Outside, I'm not sure what I'd get. it's not a job that exists in the private sector so much.
