Is Caltech (California) a good company to work for?

Caltech (California) has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on over 1,093 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has increased by 2% over the last 12 months. 74% of employees would recommend working at Caltech (California) to a friend and 70% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Caltech (California) have been left by employees working as Teaching Assistant , PhD Student and Researcher .

Does Caltech (California) pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Caltech (California) employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.8 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Caltech (California). This rating has improved by 4% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Caltech (California)?

74% of Caltech (California) employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Caltech (California) 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 4.1 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Caltech (California)?

Graduate Student (71) , Postdoctoral Fellow (63) , Graduate Research Assistant (56) , Postdoctoral Scholar (44) , PhD Student (42) , PhD Graduate Student (40) , Research Assistant (35) , Postdoctoral Researcher (27) , Researcher (21) , Research Scientist (17) , Teaching Assistant (16) , Administrative Assistant (15) , Research Technician (15) , Postdoctoral Research Associate (13) , Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow (13)

What are the pros of working at Caltech (California) according to real employee reviews?

"People are smart and nice." ((in 109 reviews)); "Campus is beautiful and location can't be beat." ((in 62 reviews)); "Good benefits are often given to employees here" ((in 41 reviews)); "Location is great and your colleagues hail from all over the world." ((in 33 reviews)); "Nice Staff" ((in 17 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Caltech (California) according to real employee reviews?

"Low salary and lots of work" ((in 37 reviews)); "bad work life balance at" ((in 19 reviews)); "Siloed departments and lack of cohesive management" ((in 14 reviews)); "Bad culture internally (in terms of staff; things may be different in terms of research / academics)." ((in 7 reviews)); "Limited diversity." ((in 6 reviews))

What are employees saying about Caltech (California) layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Caltech (California) locations?

Pasadena , Los Angeles , Baton Rouge , Livingston , Chesterfield , Charlotte , Livingston , Big Pine , Claremont , Glendale , Glendora , Montrose , South Pasadena , Moreno Valley , Rancho Cordova , Palomar Mountain , San Diego , Berkeley , Redwood City , Sausalito , San Jose , San Luis Obispo , Richland , Boston , Pasadena

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Caltech (California)

Caltech (California) reviews

4.2

74% would recommend to a friend

(979 total reviews)

Dr. Thomas F. Rosenbaum

77% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.1

Diversity & inclusion

4.1

Career opportunities

4.0

Culture & values

3.8

Work/Life balance

3.8

Senior management

3.8

Compensation and benefits

Caltech (California) has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 979 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Caltech (California) employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

979 reviews

1.0

Jan 11, 2015

Not a good place to work

Graduate student

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Reasonably good reputation throughout the world

Cons

Not very well known in the general world. Long Ph.D. duration in many departments.

4.0

Jan 9, 2015

Home for the best scientists and engineers!

Postdoctoral scholar

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

beautiful campus good food intelligent people lots of interesting events and programs (music, talks, etc)

Cons

It is a very competitive atmosphere and to keep up you have to work very hard.

3.0

Jan 2, 2015

A great institution; administration should focus on performance to make it a great place to work.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Caltech is a world class institution with worthy mission(s). It has a beautiful campus in a great location. The culture is generally positive and most management and staff are very good people. If you are comfortable clocking in and working hard, Caltech is a relatively safe place to work given alternatives. Caltech has good retirement benefits and paid time off.

Cons

The administration is a little "old school". One would expect Caltech to be a little more progressive and modern in its management approach and practices. Salaries are relatively low and while there are a some "benefits" such as the gym, parking, the Athenaeum, etc...employees pay for each of them. Caltech talks certain values including work / life balance but doesn't consistently practice them. Management focuses on staff time on and off the clock instead of performance.

Viewing 832 - 834 of 979 Reviews

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Jobs at Caltech (California)

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Administrative Assistant

Administrative Assistant

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Not a good place to work

Home for the best scientists and engineers!

A great institution; administration should focus on performance to make it a great place to work.

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