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 481 reviews)); "The people are great and it's a pleasure to work with students" ((in 325 reviews)); "Some great students and colleagues" ((in 155 reviews)); "Flexibility and good work life balance" ((in 120 reviews)); "Flexible hours and in an understanding environment while being able to develop real world skills." ((in 120 reviews))

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

"The pay can be low and slow" ((in 297 reviews)); "Low salary depending on the department and there is no way to know until you get the offer." ((in 275 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 38 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.

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Columbia University

Columbia University reviews

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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

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Gender

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Reviews by job title

5K reviews

3.0

Jan 21, 2010

Stable and Felxible

Graphic designer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The staff is friendly considering it's a large mix of students and senior staffers. Since this is an academic facility, they are flexible about schedule.

Cons

Seems to have more bureaucracy than necessary, even though people are mainly dealing with academic issues. Tremendous red tape and little recognition for many things you do since there are literally hundreds of other departments in the school

2.0

Jan 3, 2010

Good work-life balance, but one must be cut out for a career in higher education

Program coordinator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- good work-life balance - a great place to work if one has a family and desires a 9-5 job with decent benefits - benefits usually include the opportunity to take classes

Cons

- Working in small offices provides limited upward growth potential; most individuals need to move to other offices to be promoted - Few opportunities for promotion or rewards or recognition for excelling at one's job - Like many academic institutions, individuals who want to make change or "shake things up" or are ambitious will often encounter bureaucracy and some apathy among staff members

2.0

Dec 17, 2009

It is what you make of it

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The University can offer great research opportunities. The financial support is respectable for New York City. The campus is beautiful, and location in the city is great.

Cons

There is huge bureaucracy which is an impediment to getting things done. Not a lot of campus space. Students must be assertive not to get lost in the shuffle.

Viewing 5365 - 5367 of 5,406 Reviews

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Stable and Felxible

Good work-life balance, but one must be cut out for a career in higher education

It is what you make of it

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