Is Howard Hughes Medical Institute a good company to work for?

Howard Hughes Medical Institute has an overall rating of 4.3 out of 5, based on over 490 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months. 84% of employees would recommend working at Howard Hughes Medical Institute to a friend and 75% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Howard Hughes Medical Institute have been left by employees working as Postdoctoral Fellow , Postdoctoral Associate and Postdoctoral Research Associate .

Does Howard Hughes Medical Institute pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Howard Hughes Medical Institute employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.1 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. This rating has decreased by 4% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Howard Hughes Medical Institute?

84% of Howard Hughes Medical Institute employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Howard Hughes Medical Institute 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.3 for culture and values and 3.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Howard Hughes Medical Institute?

Research Technician (39) , Postdoctoral Fellow (24) , Research Associate (19) , Research Specialist (19) , Research Technician II (13) , Postdoctoral Associate (11) , Research Scientist (11) , Postdoctoral Research Associate (10) , Research Assistant (8) , Lab Manager (7) , Research Specialist I (7) , Research Specialist II (7) , Manager (6) , Senior Scientist (6) , Administrative Assistant (5)

What are the pros of working at Howard Hughes Medical Institute according to real employee reviews?

"The benefits and amenities of the facility are great." ((in 119 reviews)); "Great people that care deeply about what they do and are happy to share their expertise with you." ((in 26 reviews)); "Campus is beautiful and people are intelligent and easy to work with" ((in 18 reviews)); "Culture is great." ((in 18 reviews)); "Great pay compared to other academic institutions" ((in 16 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Howard Hughes Medical Institute according to real employee reviews?

"Low salary than industry average" ((in 15 reviews)); "Bureaucratic organization and management." ((in 7 reviews)); "No career advancement, no real leadership or guidance, slow to get projects finished, lack of communication." ((in 5 reviews)); "upper management does not understand the priorities of the people who work under them" ((in 4 reviews)); "There's a lack of trust and effective communication between and within some departments that really hinders progress on some long" ((in 3 reviews))

What are employees saying about Howard Hughes Medical Institute layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Howard Hughes Medical Institute layoffs and their outlook for job security at Howard Hughes Medical Institute in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Howard Hughes Medical Institute locations?

Ashburn , Chevy Chase , Boston , New York , San Francisco , Seattle , Cambridge , San Diego , Berkeley , Stanford , Dallas , Baltimore , Los Angeles , Bethesda , Durham , Boulder , Philadelphia , Princeton , Madison , Washington , Austin , Houston , Ann Arbor , Chapel Hill , La Jolla , Palo Alto , Waltham , Worcester , UCLA , Madison

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Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Howard Hughes Medical Institute reviews

4.3

84% would recommend to a friend

(459 total reviews)

Erin O'Shea

81% approve of CEO

75% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.3

Culture & values

4.2

Diversity & inclusion

4.1

Work/Life balance

4.1

Compensation and benefits

3.8

Senior management

3.6

Career opportunities

Howard Hughes Medical Institute has an employee rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 459 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute employee rating is 21% above average for employers within the Nonprofit & NGO industry (3.6 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

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Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

459 reviews

3.0

Oct 28, 2016

Nice but not a place for growth/development

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

10% retirement contribution whether you contribute or not; good health, dental, vision insurance; ample vacation time; decent pay; no funding worries; food service (subsidized food prices, free coffee/tea and fruit); free gym & exercise classes; abundant other perks (at least for now).

Cons

Isolated location; no career advancement; "diverse" but there are blatant divisions (predom. Latino cleaning/kitchen staff, Black/African security, Asians/Whites in research or admin positions). The benefits may keep you here but ultimately, this is where careers come to stagnate. Make sure that you're okay with the position you're offered because you'll be doing the same thing until you leave. If you're lucky, you may get a promotion. However, promotions are not based on skill/knowledge, they're based entirely on how buddy-buddy you are with your manager.

3.0

Jun 25, 2013

Long-time employee

Manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Incredible mission, great benefits, gorgeous setting (at HQ), excellent resources, very intelligent colleagues.

Cons

No career advancement, no real leadership or guidance, slow to get projects finished, lack of communication. No business justifications for many new initiatives. Definite culture of fear. Much hypocrisy by upper management.

5.0

Oct 24, 2017

outstanding work place

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

My review is about the Janelia Research Campus. Janelia is a wonderful place to work: It's the most beautiful workplace ever, it has beautiful architecture, there's artwork everywhere... The servery and the pub have delicious fresh and more or less cheap food and there's a gym with free group classes. There's a wonderful daycare for employees. Bob's pub is the center of it all, the best coffee all day long and a great place to focus or to have casual meetings. Janelia organizes great events as well and supports local charity. Overall, it has a very open culture, the camaraderie is high. It's an organization where great science is done and that works very efficiently with as little bureaucracy as possible. Also, management is taking effort to listen to the employees by organizing round table discussions.

Cons

- The location (Ashburn) is remote, 45 minutes to DC is not next door. Once you go off campus, you leave the beautiful bubble. Ashburn is very suburban and for people coming from a big city/Europe/..., it can be very difficult to adjust. You're lost without a car. - It can be hard to see when investments are made on things that don't seem necessary (mainly on the building's appearance like painting the walls over and over again, parking light system) while we're told there are budget cuts. - It is noticeable that the bureaucracy does tend to increase a bit, but still nowhere like in academia. - Management should show more appreciation towards employees. - This place is full of bright scientists, but when you're just less lucky and it seems you won't get that Nature or Science paper, the environment might be intimidating or even demotivating.

Viewing 16 - 18 of 459 Reviews

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Nice but not a place for growth/development

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outstanding work place

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