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Harvard University

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Harvard University reviews

4.2

85% would recommend to a friend

(4,070 total reviews)

Alan Garber

83% approve of CEO

68% positive business outlook

Harvard University has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 4,070 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Harvard 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

4K reviews
4.0
Sep 5, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

excellent benefits, solid intellectual community, growth opportunities within the university, access to courses and other professional development opportunities

Cons

easy to stay too long and become complacent, little to no action to remove unethical management, poor HR departments, salaries low compared to private sector

3.0
May 3, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The name Terrific benefits--love the HUGHP health insurance (the cost is outstanding) Terrific perks (like discount event tickets, center for wellness, etc.) Opportunities for more office training (Center for Wellness) A great place for those who love intellectual life Salaries are great for higher ed (much better than BU or BC)

Cons

Incredibly political and cutthroat environment at times, FAS especially so compared to other schools Very gossipy (FAS, I am looking at you) and a rampant rumor mill If you have a faculty boss, your chance of a positive and fulfilling work life drops dramatically--there are wonderful faculty, I've worked with 7 total, all but 1 had aggravating moments, 3 were fatally terrible (2 of which are why I am leaving!) Faculty managers are appointed based upon distinguished research or careers outside higher ed, but are often notoriously terrible managers No connection with performance to reward Performance reviews are sporadic (good luck convincing your faculty to give you 30 minutes of their time to review you once a year) Union jobs = often equals a bunch of lazy people coasting with lacking skills (especially the multiple decade veterans) and will hold you back from advancement since taking on more to work your way up is verboten (can't make the former look bad!), will be chained to desk for set hours (less flexible) but will leave on time (they don't like to pay overtime) Salaried jobs = work/life balance evaporates entirely, will get worked many, many hours No dependent or spouse educational benefit Students can be snooty, entitled, rude, and lack common sense (more so than BU which didn't have this issue when I worked there). Lots of student hand-holding. Senior management will not discipline or replace incompetent faculty in administrative roles--even if you are right, you have to get along with them or leave

2.0
Jan 26, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Excellent benefits, big name on resume, wide-ranging work experience. One benefit to take advantage of is the offering of discount classes for employees. I took several graduate level classes at Harvard - quite stimulating and a great resume builder. The campus is a lovely place to work and near shops, restaurants etc.

Cons

Faculty are self-absorbed and egoistic, poorly managed with little HR support especially in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The students are quite privileged and can be a bit rude to staff at times. The salaries are too low, and there is little room for growth. I got bored with the job after not too long.

Viewing 127 - 129 of 4,070 Reviews

Glassdoor has 4,618 Harvard University reviews submitted anonymously by Harvard University employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Harvard University is right for you.