Harvard University reviews

1) It is hard to get a job at Harvard...less than 2% of job applicants are accepted. It is harder to get a job at Harvard than get into the school. This counts for promotions as well. Most moves are lateral promotions or small promotions in different areas. People work for 10 years at the Law School and then get another job at the Education school for slightly more money. There is no direct line of promotion. 2) Cambridge is expensive. Harvard pays a good salary at every job level but it still is not enough to own a house in the area. Cambridge is a great place but most employees have to commute. Renting is easy enough in Cambridge but if you want a bigger place or a to own your own home you will have to commute at least 30 minutes if not closer to an hour. Trains are good though... 3) This barely a con but working at Harvard dominates your life. You will hear the word Harvard a 100 times a day, see crimson Hs all over the place, and might even get Harvard overload. Some people do not like it. But this is not a real problem for most people ...after all...saying you work at Harvard is awesome. 4) Some of the people at Harvard are flaky. The Harvard name attracts all sorts for really cool people to pompous snobs who have nothing to really be pompous or snobby about other than working at Harvard. But the proverbial 9 out of 10 employees (and students) are really nice people. The local Cambridge people are definitely weird crunchy types though...

- Very few opportunities for career advancement - Tendency to "get stuck" in the same position and grade level for many years - University attracts odd, out-of-touch faculty and staff who are not "grounded" in reality - Salaries are average to below average for similar positions in other industries - Little or no centralization; duplication of effort occurs repeatedly across different offices and units - If you are young, the University has a very grey workforce; the majority of employees are 40+ and many are within 1-10 years of retirement. As a result, the place often lacks youthful energy and fun, despite the students - Way too many meetings. This place has a meeting over everything. 4-6 hours in the 8-hour day are often spent at pointless meetings.