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.

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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

4.0

Aug 29, 2009

Long hours, good benefits

postdoctoral researcher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It's a great place to work and live. Depending on your status as a researcher your sponsoring department/institute should provide you with housing that is very nice and relatively inexpensive. The benefits package is also really nice with regards to the out-of-pocket cost of health insurance, especially in comparison to other comparable schools.

Cons

The standards for work ethic are set very high and you might not have a lot of freedom to enjoy your life and family. There is no retirement compensation for post-docs.

4.0

Aug 19, 2009

Research first, people second.

Postdoctoral research fellow

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-Get to work and learn from the best scientists in the world. -Lots of opportunities to attend seminars and classes. -Housing in the downtown campus is excellent and cheap.

Cons

-Departments lack communication within itself and with each other -The paper works required to get paid or get benefit are too convoluted. Experiences with not getting paid for a month or getting drop from health coverage is widespread. -The facilities are old.

4.0

Aug 12, 2009

good place to work if you prefer a good balance between work and personal life

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

beautiful campus, very normal working hours, no stressful afterhours work good benefits package, vacations days depends on your level, you might enjoy tuition if you will be taking courses either for no degree, or towards a job related degree.

Cons

pay is relatively lower, even compare with other similar institutions full of office politics, and very bureaucratic. Can barely do anything thing easily

Viewing 5395 - 5397 of 5,406 Reviews

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Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

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Long hours, good benefits

Research first, people second.

good place to work if you prefer a good balance between work and personal life

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