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Columbia University

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Bureaucratic nightmare - Anonymous employee Columbia University Employee Review

2.0
Nov 18, 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I was fortunate to work with some talented colleagues. Additionally, my on-campus housing (I believe this is only for research staff) was quickly and easily arranged. Apartment maintenance was performed promptly. The IT department (CUIT) proved flexible and willing to solve our problems.

Cons

The bureaucracy is an unstoppable force; paper forms abound and forget about doing anything not covered by an existing policy or checklist. Department administrations appear stuck in the 1970s with staff that, on average, do little more than the bare minimum. Capable staff are hamstrung by arcane procedures. I fear this extends to the educational aspects of the University, which is compounded by a lack of willingness to change. My appointment was bungled no fewer than three times, leading to delays in pay and lapsed health insurance. At one point I was forced to purchase my own health insurance from the state exchange because of an administrator's error. Expense reimbursements sometimes took months to arrive. Procurement was an embarrassment. Several times during my tenure vendor accounts were left unpaid. Dozens of hours were wasted trying to follow up with our department's business office in attempts to rectify said situations. It took over a year for our group's charge account at Staples to be approved for use.

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5.0
May 21, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
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Pros

The labs and team were great

Cons

Occasionally hard to get support from admin

5.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

If you a PhD student, you never have to worry about money or funding. Professors have a lot of funding for different research projects.

Cons

The EE department/professors are not very supportive of the PhD students. Most of them are not typically patient with students if they are taking their time with projects. They replace them with new students.

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