Does Merck pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Merck employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.1 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Merck. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Merck?

83% of Merck employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Merck 3.9 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 3.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Merck?

Associate Director (234) , Director (190) , Intern (171) , Senior Scientist (163) , Sales Representative (117) , Scientist (94) , Senior Specialist (92) , Associate Principal Scientist (91) , Project Manager (88) , Manager (86) , Pharmaceuticals Sales Representative (59) , Associate Specialist (58) , Specialist (55) , Operations Manager (50) , Internship (49)

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

"Benefits are good (middle of road for pharma) Great when compared to other industries" ((in 756 reviews)); "There has been some really great people that have worked in Durham but many have left." ((in 508 reviews)); "Working in maintenance the work can have pressure at times but overall has a good work/life balance." ((in 324 reviews)); "Pay was good and the year end bonus was nice." ((in 314 reviews)); "The culture was great and very inclusive" ((in 293 reviews))

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

"Poor management; lack of trust between management and reps" ((in 223 reviews)); "Frequent layoffs and reorgs." ((in 144 reviews)); "Merck discovered this ticket and Manager Y and his/her boss called to discuss with me." ((in 111 reviews)); "upper management seems confused; jobs get eliinated" ((in 84 reviews)); "Senior leadership is more concerned with attaining KPIs and schedule adherence than producing a high quality product that the customer expects." ((in 75 reviews))

What are employees saying about Merck layoffs in 2026?

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

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Merck

Merck reviews

4.1

83% would recommend to a friend

(6,149 total reviews)

Rob Davis

82% approve of CEO

71% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.1

Diversity & inclusion

4.1

Compensation and benefits

3.9

Culture & values

3.9

Work/Life balance

3.7

Career opportunities

3.5

Senior management

Merck has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 6,149 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Merck employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Farmacéutica y biotecnología industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

6K reviews

1.0

Jan 14, 2016

Horrible management

Planner

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Pension is worth while if you can deal with the massive work load. Food court is one of the best things there if you can leave to go to McDonald's

Cons

Fold to the union on everything, treat salary employees like crap. Minimal raises even if you are a top performers

3.0

Jan 9, 2016

Associate Specialist

Associate specialist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great experience, moving the company in the right direction, good work-life balance depending on the position you take within the company, diverse upper level management (CEO and a couple layers down)

Cons

Direct management not very diverse on the lower totem poles, currently workers not valued on shop floor and a ton of turn-over due, in part, to the announcement of coming lay-offs

3.0

Dec 18, 2015

Good greatly pay, but with the extensive hours and little work /life balance, much left to be desired

Principal scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay, good benefits, flexibility to work from home, flexibility for part time for some positions, intelligent and passionate employees.

Cons

Very long hours, lots of turnover and frequent layoffs so never enough coverage, too much bureaucracy for decision making, lots of inefficiencies, mostly Type A personalities, lack of concern for employee work /life balance

Viewing 103 - 105 of 6,149 Reviews

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Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Horrible management

Associate Specialist

Good greatly pay, but with the extensive hours and little work /life balance, much left to be desired

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