Does MIT pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, MIT employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.8 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at MIT. This rating has improved by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at MIT?

85% of MIT employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated MIT 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.2 for culture and values and 4.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at MIT?

Research Assistant (306) , Graduate Research Assistant (221) , Postdoctoral Associate (215) , Postdoctoral Research Associate (138) , Graduate Student (127) , Postdoctoral Fellow (116) , PhD Student (114) , Research Scientist (97) , Undergraduate Researcher (81) , Researcher (80) , Graduate Student Researcher (65) , Administrative Assistant (62) , Research Associate (58) , PhD Graduate Student (57) , Undergraduate Research Assistant (56)

What are the pros of working at MIT according to real employee reviews?

"2. Great People: It can be great to collaborate with some of the smartest minds in the world" ((in 416 reviews)); "Benefits are great and the Credit union is fantastic." ((in 347 reviews)); "MIT offers great opportunities for their students to gain research and work experience." ((in 89 reviews)); "Good culture and can be improved" ((in 70 reviews)); "Good work environment and colleagues" ((in 65 reviews))

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

"low pay and difficult to find affordable housing in the area" ((in 205 reviews)); "Low salary and very competitive" ((in 189 reviews)); "Long hours during certain points of position but all was worth the time put in." ((in 67 reviews)); "Management is poor" ((in 41 reviews)); "Annoying HR and pushy supervisor." ((in 20 reviews))

What are employees saying about MIT layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about MIT layoffs and their outlook for job security at MIT in 2026.

MIT reviews

Compare reviews

4.4

85% would recommend to a friend

(4,245 total reviews)

Sally Kornbluth

90% approve of CEO

75% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.3

Diversity & inclusion

4.2

Culture & values

4.2

Career opportunities

3.8

Work/Life balance

3.8

Senior management

3.8

Compensation and benefits

MIT has an employee rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 4,245 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The MIT 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

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

4K reviews

5.0

Oct 9, 2021

Excellent employer

Postdoctoral research fellow

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

During the pandemic MIT worked exceptionally hard to protect emplyees' safety while providing sufficient testing to keep labs and shared facilities up and running. MIT provides lots of career-building resources for postdocs and some nice benefits, like MBTA passes.

Cons

If you have outside funding as a postdoc fellow, you are technically an "MIT affiliate". The health insurance plans available through MIT for affiliates are significantly worse than those provided to normal employees.

4.0

Sep 22, 2021

Great Graduate School with Large Areas for Improvement

Graduate research assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

All the graduate students I’ve met are extremely smart, motivated, easy to get along with, and passionate about their work. The professors are excellent researchers at the top of their field. Getting funding in my research group is no problem due to my advisor’s great history of successful projects and numerous networks and connections.

Cons

The graduate courses leave much to be desired and the administration is inefficient, bureaucratic, and reluctant to change. The PhD core curriculum is not taught well. Professors who clearly have their research as their priority deliver lectures that cover derivation and theory but do nothing to instruct how to apply any of the concepts. That work is left to stressed, over-burdened TA’s who are given the most actual teaching work but often have to focus on their research to the detriment of the students. This world-class research university does not hire prioritizing candidate’s communication skills or teaching ability, and it shows in the courses. I hoped that the courses would’ve been as incredible as MIT’s reputation initially led me to believe.

3.0

Sep 21, 2021

Inspiring research and faculty, ridiculously bad administration

Senior officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits and good pay The research and work are incredible and inspiring to be a part of

Cons

Operates in siloed fiefdoms where managers get total control and no accountability. Treats staff as expendable

Viewing 34 - 36 of 4,245 Reviews

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Excellent employer

Great Graduate School with Large Areas for Improvement

Inspiring research and faculty, ridiculously bad administration

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