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Caltech (California)

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You'll probably not go out the way you went in! - Staff Scientist Caltech (California) Employee Review

3.0
May 30, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Vacation, and matching retirement fund contributions. Awesome visiting speakers & guest lecturers. Good athletic facility for use by faculty, students & staff. I should have made more use of the lovely Atheneum faculty & staff club when I was there. The academic environment must be getting better if the poor stressed-to-the-max students have stopped snuffing themselves out.

Cons

Some departments are in need of facility & infrastructure maintenance and renovation. I experienced near constant environmental issues, i.e., noise, heat, and noxious smells, usually from points of origin outside my lab or office. My working space was heavily infested by vertebrate & invertebrate pests for some months in 2011-12. It took some time for facilities management to finally mount an effective response. If your supervisor is not effective at conflict resolution, there's not really any available venue of recourse. The Ombud's office was eliminated some years back. The culture in some research support entities can be very oppressive for staff. To get the best results from staff, concentrate on inspirado, and incentive, not disparagement & retribution.

Explore other reviews about Caltech (California)

5.0
Jul 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You get to interact with many smart people

Cons

Dining halls should be better

5.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I really like the people I work with. Managers promote psychological safety and follow through with their commitments . My direct managers are interested in my growth and professional development. There are a lot of affinity groups to connect with. Overall a great community to be a part of. Caltech has good benefits and even mental health counseling available for staff.

Cons

Because the campus is lightly administered/decentralized, policies can vary a lot by department, which can make things really confusing for the initial period. However, if you’re open to talking to others and making connections, it can go a long way in helping you figure out how things work on campus. Another negative is that departmental culture can vary. Working as an admin in one department may be much more difficult than in another department.

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