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Columbia University

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The Columbia Work Culture Will Kill You [Columbia Engineering] - Director Columbia University Employee Review

2.0
Dec 20, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

This review is for Engineering though the themes seen to be institutional. Highly intelligent, self-motivated, capable, and confident colleagues. Across teams, I've encountered so many folks who would be rockstar employees elsewhere but because of low pay, unrealistic work expectations, and short staffing, so many of us are just hanging on by a thread to do great work. If you can find a great team elsewhere, it's great to consider but it's very hard to find a team without these same issues.

Cons

The bar is impossible to meet and senior leadership fundamentally doesn't understand what the role of administrators is. Mountains are made out of mustard seeds, key crucial decisions take weeks to make, and check-ins are seen as a procedural necessity without much substance or action. There is constant talk of ideas but no actionable movement only for senior leadership to follow up weeks or months later and deem these same ideas as urgent and top priority. Everything is always important and it's also urgent and must be done NOW! Pay is abysmally low. Asking for a raise will almost always result in months of stalling and gaslighting. There are several folks who have taken 'medical leaves of absence' only to resign when they're due to return. Mentally, I am never off from my work. I am always thinking about work, tapped into my work. Whether it's 6 AM or 10 PM, you should be available. The phrase 'I don't have the bandwidth' is not respected and seen as you being a personal failure. There is no such thing as work life balance. You simply work and try to find ways to have a life in the 3 hours of free time you have. You are rewarded with food. No pay, no breaks, just the occasional lunch. I once had a coworker tell me I use bathroom breaks as a reward only after I've finished a few tasks. Unfortunately many colleagues outside of SEAS also feel very similarly.

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5.0
Jun 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

friendly, helpful, support, great work culture

Cons

high demand, stress, pressure, adminstrative

1.0
May 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The benefits and work-life balance were generally reasonable.

Cons

The Internal Audit department was one of the most disappointing work environments I have experienced. Columbia promotes a culture of collaboration, trust, and support, but that was not reflected in my experience. Leadership micromanaged employees to an excessive degree, especially on work-from-home days. If you stepped away from your computer for a few minutes, it felt like you had to justify your whereabouts. Rather than encouraging employees to learn and grow, management often made people feel foolish for asking questions or not knowing something immediately. The atmosphere was stressful, morale was low, and trust between leadership and staff was virtually nonexistent. I would not recommend this department to anyone seeking a supportive or professional work environment.

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