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 (70) , 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 106 reviews)); "Campus is beautiful and location can't be beat." ((in 61 reviews)); "Good benefits are often given to employees here" ((in 48 reviews)); "Location is great and your colleagues hail from all over the world." ((in 33 reviews)); "Flexible hours and most of the projects are interesting" ((in 17 reviews))

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

"Low salary and lots of work" ((in 36 reviews)); "bad work life balance at" ((in 19 reviews)); "Siloed departments and lack of cohesive management" ((in 12 reviews)); "Limited diversity." ((in 6 reviews)); "Hard classes" ((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

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

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (979 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

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).

Reviews by job title

979 reviews

4.0

Aug 7, 2014

The best things about Caltech are it's students and it's students.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Working with such wonderful young people.

Cons

not enough support for the adjunct faculty and staff

3.0

Jun 7, 2014

A lot of long-timers

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Beautiful campus and area, world-renowned research, great benefits, some great people

Cons

A lot of average and below average employees who stay until retirement and are resistant to change, HR more concerned with reputation than performance

4.0

Mar 5, 2014

Flexible on personal issues, yet seem to be stuck in the 70's on best business practices

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

There's a great sense of community at Caltech. Most people have worked here for decades and it all feels like family. They are also willing to work around your personal schedule and telecommuting is easy since all the systems are available from anywhere with a VPN.

Cons

Caltech seems to hire a lot of "button-pushers" in the finance and admin functions that don't think for themselves. I haven't figured out yet if this is on purpose or caused by some other problem.

Viewing 85 - 87 of 979 Reviews

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Jobs at Caltech (California)

Administrative Assistant

Administrative Assistant

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Cook - Caltech Dining Services