Does Columbia University pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Columbia University employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.5 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 3.6 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 (55) , 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 492 reviews)); "The people are great and it's a pleasure to work with students" ((in 319 reviews)); "Flexible hours and in an understanding environment while being able to develop real world skills." ((in 121 reviews)); "Flexibility and good work life balance" ((in 115 reviews)); "good work environment at this job" ((in 82 reviews))

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

"low pay compared to state schools that pay more to perform the same exact duties." ((in 302 reviews)); "low salary very far from my home not much increase yearly not much chances of growth departments are not well interconnected" ((in 281 reviews)); "extremely low on pay and poor management" ((in 115 reviews)); "Senior leadership can be difficult to deal with." ((in 37 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.

Columbia University reviews

4.0

65% would recommend to a friend

(5,431 total reviews)

Lee C. Bollinger

60% approve of CEO

51% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (5,431 reviews)

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 5,431 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

4.0

Oct 15, 2025

standard pay

Md-phd student

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

lump sum deposit plus if you get an NIH F30 you get more

Cons

payroll dept regularly delays payment by several weeks

4.0

Oct 15, 2025

Good benefits, okay vibes

Development assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- easy to move internally (when there's not a hiring freeze) - corporate without feeling overly so - hybrid Union position (UAW) Per the union contact: - annual salary increase - longevity increase - great health insurance with small or no monthly premium - incredible PTO

Cons

- working for a university with questionable morals - lack of communication from university and office leadership - high turn over - lower salaries than other schools

2.0

Oct 13, 2025

Micromanagement

Coordinator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay and great medical benefits

Cons

My manager was so micromanaging and psychologically toxic/borderline abusive. And the rest of my team just accepted this behavior willingly and some even emulated the behaviors. I resisted normalizing this as I’ve had previous jobs that actually respected me, but seeing the rest of the team felt like a bit like syndrome. This school can be very productivity driven & not so focused on the actual mental wellbeing of staff. You have to just decide what your priorities are and whether the prestige & income is worth the likely long-term burnout.

Viewing 208 - 210 of 5,431 Reviews

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Jobs at Columbia University

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