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 108 reviews)); "Campus is beautiful and location can't be beat." ((in 63 reviews)); "Good benefits are often given to employees here" ((in 42 reviews)); "Location is great and your colleagues hail from all over the world." ((in 35 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 34 reviews)); "bad work life balance at" ((in 19 reviews)); "Siloed departments and lack of cohesive management" ((in 13 reviews)); "Limited diversity." ((in 7 reviews)); "Bad culture internally (in terms of staff; things may be different in terms of research / academics)." ((in 7 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

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

5.0

Feb 28, 2013

Almost all good.

Graduate research assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

You get to work with and for some of the brightest people in the world at the California Institute of Technology. The benefits associated with working here are among the best you will find in university settings. At the graduate level, there are extremely small class sizes.

Cons

Some of the people at the California Institute of Technology lack social skills. This is more true among the undergraduate students than any other population on campus.

5.0

Feb 27, 2013

Caltech great place to work

Manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great working atmosphere, people, benefits, and location. Lots of on-campus events open to staff. Compensation is comparable to market. More of a family environment than a company.

Cons

Since it is a higher ed and Caltech is fairly small in size compared to other Universities there are less opportunities as one moves up the career ladder. Not unless you are a Faculty member and that is a different track from a Staff member.

4.0

Feb 26, 2013

Best place I've ever worked

Library manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Caltech emphasizes retention in addition to recruitment. Benefits are great, especially the less common ones - free access to excellent gym on campus, flexibility in working hours if you're an exempt employee, casual dress code. The focus here is on excellence - you are working with the best of the best and you know it. HR strives to provide continuing education plus their support for new managers is superior.

Cons

The culture and history of each division of Caltech is very independent which affects the budgeting process. Every division can do it's own thing. Sometimes this leads to duplicated spending, especially when it comes to infrastructure type things like IT support, and library. Management could focus a bit more on achieving economies of scale by eliminating redundancies.

Viewing 916 - 918 of 979 Reviews

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Jobs at Caltech (California)

Dishwasher - Caltech Dining Services

Dishwasher - Caltech Dining Services

Dishwasher - Caltech Dining Services

Dishwasher - Caltech Dining Services