Does UCLA pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, UCLA employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.7 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at UCLA. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at UCLA?

77% of UCLA employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated UCLA 4.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 3.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at UCLA?

Research Assistant (202) , Teaching Assistant (170) , Graduate Student Researcher (164) , Administrative Assistant (120) , Postdoctoral Fellow (113) , Graduate Student (103) , Graduate Research Assistant (88) , Graduate Teaching Assistant (86) , PhD Student (67) , Postdoctoral Scholar (67) , Postdoctoral Researcher (65) , Student Worker (63) , Student Assistant (58) , Registered Nurse (56) , Researcher (55)

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

"Benefits are great and class material is interesting." ((in 536 reviews)); "The people I worked with were great and that was one of the best reasons I enjoyed my work experience at ucla." ((in 291 reviews)); "The campus is beautiful and it is a dream place to work if you like research in social sciences." ((in 227 reviews)); "Flexible hours and you get to take on as many people as you want to tutor" ((in 205 reviews)); "I love teaching and work environment is good." ((in 118 reviews))

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

"Low pay and if you don’t publish you can really hurt your chances of getting a job after." ((in 316 reviews)); "half time only means low salary but that's on par for the course for grad students" ((in 243 reviews)); "Management was poor and slow to get back to you." ((in 112 reviews)); "parking is expensive and not always convenient to where you work." ((in 99 reviews)); "The only way to "move up" or get a raise is by applying to another position." ((in 31 reviews))

What are employees saying about UCLA layoffs in 2026?

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

UCLA reviews

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4.1

77% would recommend to a friend

(5,740 total reviews)

Gene D. Block

70% approve of CEO

60% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.2

Diversity & inclusion

4.0

Work/Life balance

3.9

Culture & values

3.8

Career opportunities

3.7

Compensation and benefits

3.6

Senior management

UCLA has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 5,740 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The UCLA 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

6K reviews

5.0

Mar 16, 2024

Fantastic school to do your PhD at

Phd student

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- Wonderful and helpful community of graduate students - Lots of available resources - Great location which makes it a great place to live

Cons

- Suffers from the same bureaucracy as most public universities, and therefore things like reimbursements can take quite a long time - Your experience is greatly a function of your advisor, and there are no systems in place to keep both parties accountable. - Little to no support or dedicated system to students who need to change advsors

1.0

Jan 22, 2024

50 students in class , 20years of experience and 35/hr pay

Dance instructor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I thought it was a prestigious university, with good diverse students and great culture. Location was close to my home

Cons

They were beyond cheap. I was a master teacher since 1995, with 25 years of real live stage dancing experience( company work and film& TV ) and 13 years of teaching in professional performing arts schools and universities, but nevertheless paid the same as students who had just gotten some minor certification and barely had any experience teaching and just taught part-times to make money. I had been a teacher full-time for a decade all over the globe. My classes were well received I averaged 25-45 students and got no added fee for that huge amounts in class.

3.0

Jan 16, 2024

I am grateful for my PhD experience overall, but I was underpaid and had my boundaries crossed many times.

Researcher, phd candidate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Prestige, research tools, opportunities, beautiful campus

Cons

Cost of living, administrative issues, operates like a corporation instead of a school

Viewing 88 - 90 of 5,740 Reviews

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Jobs at UCLA

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UCLA

UCLA reviews

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Fantastic school to do your PhD at

50 students in class , 20years of experience and 35/hr pay

I am grateful for my PhD experience overall, but I was underpaid and had my boundaries crossed many times.

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