Does Emerson College pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Emerson College employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Emerson College. This rating has decreased by 11% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Emerson College?

39% of Emerson College employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Emerson College 3.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.0 for culture and values and 2.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Emerson College?

Assistant Director (9) , Administrative Assistant (8) , Adjunct Faculty (7) , Assistant Professor (6) , Welcome Desk Assistant (6) , Adjunct Professor (5) , Adjunct Instructor (4) , Research Assistant (4) , Affiliated Faculty (3) , Associate Director (3) , Resident Assistant (3) , Actor/Performer (2) , Adjunct Faculty Member (2) , Application-Engineer (2) , Associate Professor (2)

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

"Great people and community to work for." ((in 25 reviews)); "Emerson offers great benefits in a very unique environment with tons of resources for learning in a very welcoming community." ((in 16 reviews)); "friendly staff" ((in 10 reviews)); "They expect hard work and focus, but in return provide a professional yet comfortable work environment." ((in 9 reviews)); "Good work life balance and good people" ((in 7 reviews))

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

"Low pay even for a nonprofit and higher education" ((in 17 reviews)); "Salary was low." ((in 8 reviews)); "Managers don’t know what they are doing" ((in 7 reviews)); "Bad leadership, especially HR that want to pay people as less as possible." ((in 5 reviews)); "Sometimes there is bad communication" ((in 5 reviews))

What are the top reviewed Emerson College locations?

Boston , Los Angeles , Salt Lake City , Chicago , Greensboro , Columbus , Redondo Beach , Santa Fe Springs , El Cajon , Fort Washington , United States Coast Guard - Air Station Sacramento

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Emerson College

Emerson College reviews

3.2

39% would recommend to a friend

(316 total reviews)

Jay Bernahardt

16% approve of CEO

21% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.6

Work/Life balance

3.2

Diversity & inclusion

3.0

Culture & values

3.0

Compensation and benefits

2.4

Career opportunities

2.1

Senior management

Emerson College has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 316 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Emerson College 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

316 reviews

2.0

Feb 10, 2026

Beware

Manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Very few and far between

Cons

Elitism and unprofessionalism so abundant, it's almost scary until you remember there's no real professional development budget. Respect and job security is only for Assistant Directors and above. There is no real cohesion or leadership amongst the higher ups. They only care to woo donors and everyone else is an afterthought.

3.0

Jan 27, 2026

Poor leadership, ruining a good thing

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Nice, smart people on immediate teams actually doing the work. The unions are a perk, but can only do so much.

Cons

Staff is undervalued and under appreciated, under funded and under compensated.

2.0

Feb 24, 2022

Overworked, Underpaid, even for a nonprofit and higher education

Alumni relations

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- The coworkers who are in the trenches with you - Decent amount of time off that you can't even use because you're bullied into not taking it

Cons

- Extremely disorganized, regardless of what department you end up in - Low pay even for a nonprofit and higher education - Egotistical, incompetent managers who only care about Diversity & Inclusion for image - Little to no job mobility; promotions take AT LEAST 6 mo-1 year to process even before pandemic - Extremely emotionally draining and demoralizing

Viewing 13 - 15 of 316 Reviews

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Jobs at Emerson College

Affiliated (Part-time) Faculty Member | Acting for Film and Television | Emerson Los Angeles

Affiliated (Part-time) Faculty Member | History of South and Southeast Asian Art | School of Film, Television, and Media Arts

Director, Visitor Center

Campus Planning Intern