Is Columbia University a good company to work for?

Columbia University has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 6,176 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 65% of employees would recommend working at Columbia University to a friend and 51% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Columbia University have been left by employees working as Research Intern , Data Analyst and Undergraduate Research Assistant .

Does Columbia University pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Columbia University employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.5 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Columbia University. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Columbia University?

65% of Columbia University employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Columbia University 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.6 for culture and values and 3.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Columbia University?

Research Assistant (330) , Teaching Assistant (163) , Graduate Research Assistant (162) , Graduate Student (150) , PhD Student (145) , Postdoctoral Research Scientist (95) , Administrative Assistant (79) , Graduate Teaching Assistant (78) , Postdoctoral Fellow (74) , Associate Research Scientist (72) , Assistant Director (66) , Director (56) , Postdoctoral Researcher (55) , Associate Director (45) , Researcher (45)

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

"Columbia and the Business School are great to work for because of the benefits and the people." ((in 495 reviews)); "The people are great and it's a pleasure to work with students" ((in 328 reviews)); "Flexible hours and in an understanding environment while being able to develop real world skills." ((in 123 reviews)); "Flexibility and good work life balance" ((in 113 reviews)); "Good work environment for the most part" ((in 90 reviews))

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

"The pay can be low and slow" ((in 302 reviews)); "Low salary depending on the department and there is no way to know until you get the offer." ((in 274 reviews)); "extremely low on pay and poor management" ((in 105 reviews)); "Senior leadership can be difficult to deal with." ((in 40 reviews)); "If you get a bad manager, not much can be done." ((in 39 reviews))

What are employees saying about Columbia University layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Columbia University locations?

New York , Morningside Heights , Brooklyn , Palisades , Washington Heights , Los Angeles , San Francisco , Chicago , New City , Washington , San Diego , Seattle , Manhattanville , Fort Lee , Manhasset , New York Mills , Columbus , Columbia , Jacksonville , Tampa , East Orange , Edison , Fair Lawn , Maplewood , New Brunswick , Newark , Paterson , Tenafly , Princeton , Orange Beach

Columbia University reviews

4.0

65% would recommend to a friend

(5,432 total reviews)

Lee C. Bollinger

60% approve of CEO

51% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Columbia University has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 5,432 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Columbia University 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

5K reviews

4.0

Jul 14, 2009

Great place for research experience.

Research assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- Good pay and benefits for this type of position - Intelligent coworkers - Collaborative environment - Beautiful campus location - Good support of work/life balance, including flex time - Ability to take classes or enroll in a graduate program

Cons

- Less opportunity for advancement than a private company - Some experience with hierarchical prejudice - Certain employees seem to be riding the union wave of a minimal-work ethic

1.0

Jul 7, 2009

Home for the Inept

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

reasonable benefits, good work-life balance.

Cons

Management is completely inept. Because the best people go into the private sector where the pay is much better, the only people who work at Columbia are the left overs. There are more administrators than there are students, and the overall bureaucracy and incompetence is shocking for a university even of its size. While the students and professors may be among the best in the world, the support staff are the worst. Work there if you can't find any work elsewhere.

4.0

Apr 14, 2009

The graduate student experience at Columbia University will be different for everyone.

Graduate research assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

As a graduate student, lifestyle can be busy but is very flexible. Additionally, training is extremely good, and intellectual curiosity is strongly encouraged. Although individual situations are different, graduate students generally have a lot of freedom to pursue projects that they are personally interested in.

Cons

Work as a graduate student is heavily dependent on the mentor. Faculty have extremely diverse management styles, so that everyone's individual experience will be different. If not matched with a mentor whose style suits one's personality, the experience can be quite difficult.

Viewing 5407 - 5409 of 5,432 Reviews

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Jobs at Columbia University

Associate Research Scientist

Adjunct Lecturer, Solving Real World Problems with Analytics (ONLINE - Summer/Fall '26)

Adjunct Lecturer, Applied Deep Learning and AI (On-Campus, Fall '26)