Sometimes overwhelming but also a great opportunity - Visiting Fellow NIH Employee Review

4.0
Jul 31, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fellowships are typically quite stable as they are not reliant on a grant. Lots of training opportunities and support for career services. Opportunity to work with many of the world's best scientists. Ability to undertake high risk projects. Abundant resources available to allow you to excel if you grasp the opportunity. Excellent health plan for fellows.

Cons

Increasing interference by government bureaucracy affects simple daily tasks including placing orders, booking travel and even providing coffee at an NIH run event. Can feel overwhelming because it is such a large institute, you are constantly made aware of the huge number of other trainees that you will be competing with for a job. For most people, there will be little opportunity to move up within NIH as there are limited full time employee slots allotted to each lab although there are some ways around it. Large disparity in pay depending on the institute.

Explore other reviews about NIH

5.0
Jul 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work-life balance, coworkers are good humans, and there is room to grow

Cons

Slow at times, but there are also very busy periods.

4.0
Jun 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Working with the some of the smartest scientists and clinicians in the world. So many learning opportunities. Kind patients. Allowed time to care for patients as there is no pressure of quotas by health insurance.

Cons

Nursing management can be verbally abusive with frequent retaliation and intimidation. As most older nurses have worked there for most of their career, they are dismissive of new perspectives and resistant to evidence-based practice.

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