Does Stanford University pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Stanford University employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Stanford University. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Stanford University?

82% of Stanford University employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Stanford University 3.9 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.1 for culture and values and 3.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Stanford University?

Postdoctoral Fellow (348) , Research Assistant (347) , PhD Student (166) , Graduate Research Assistant (157) , Postdoctoral Scholar (135) , Graduate Student (132) , Postdoctoral Researcher (100) , PhD Graduate Student (79) , Research Scientist (76) , Teaching Assistant (60) , Research Associate (56) , Postdoctoral Research Fellow (54) , Researcher (54) , Clinical Research Coordinator (52) , Administrative Assistant (47)

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

"people were great and nice to work with" ((in 492 reviews)); "one of the best places If you like to do research and the campus is beautiful" ((in 362 reviews)); "Great faculty and colleagues and resources" ((in 170 reviews)); "Good work life balance is good" ((in 142 reviews)); "Everyone is appreciative of your work and hours are flexible as long as you do your assigned tasks." ((in 112 reviews))

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

"Low salary because of the way the fellowship works; can only work domestically not internationally" ((in 305 reviews)); "Low pay and very antiquated." ((in 305 reviews)); "Poor management; Discouraging and had unreasonable expectations as working from home began due to covid" ((in 65 reviews)); "Managers don't hold themselves accountable and you wonder what they do all day." ((in 47 reviews)); "poor work organization and leadership" ((in 28 reviews))

What are employees saying about Stanford University layoffs in 2026?

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

Stanford University reviews

4.3

82% would recommend to a friend

(5,725 total reviews)

Jonathan Levin

77% approve of CEO

68% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Stanford University has an employee rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 5,725 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Stanford 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

6K reviews

4.0

Jul 27, 2010

Good work environment

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Beautiful working environment. Flexible working schedule. generous vacation and sick leave time. tuition benefit of your kids for college. In general, people are nice. Good place to work after 40.

Cons

too relax. Not much challenge. high premium for medical insurance. Too many people are not really working for anything, or not productive at all.

5.0

Jul 26, 2010

You have some control over your grad. school experience

Ph d candidate (chem eng )

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

There are a lot of great students and faculty at Stanford. I believe your experience in graduate school depends strongly on finding the right adviser/research group to match your personality. At Stanford there are a lot of great faculty advisers, but not all of them! You definitely have to take initiative to make sure you get the most out of your experience.

Cons

The university is in a bit of a bubble (it seems students hardly ever go off campus). There is definitely still a fair share of graduate students who are overworked/dissatisfied with their experience (likely because they didn't/couldn't find an adviser that matched their personality. Professors are usually hired for their research, not always their teaching abilities, as a result not all faculty are great teachers.

2.0

Jul 18, 2010

Review of Stanford

Director of development

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Stanford University's reputation and quality of research; strength of faculty and faculty background and accomplishments -past and future possible awards; collaborative environment and vast breadth of research (NIH funded);

Cons

competition among the diverse populations of scientists and consttuencies for limited resources can cause in-fighting; some areas of fund raising have greater faculty participation; other faculty members are more concerned with their own research; there has not been a culture of philanthropy/interst in seeking outside funding.

Viewing 5611 - 5613 of 5,725 Reviews

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Jobs at Stanford University

Developmental Biology Faculty in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery

Clinical Research Coordinator Assistant

Student Research/Job Opportunity in Stanford Graduate School of Education

Postdoctoral Scholar, Endocrine Oncology Lab