Is NIH a good company to work for?

NIH has an overall rating of 4.1 out of 5, based on over 2,843 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months. 80% of employees would recommend working at NIH to a friend and 60% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about NIH have been left by employees working as Postdoctoral Researcher , Intern and Summer Intern .

Does NIH pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, NIH employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at NIH. This rating has decreased by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at NIH?

80% of NIH employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated NIH 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.2 for culture and values and 3.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at NIH?

Postdoctoral Fellow (298) , Research Fellow (124) , Postbaccalaureate IRTA (103) , Staff Scientist (63) , Postdoctoral Research Fellow (40) , Intern (38) , Research Assistant (38) , Summer Intern (29) , Post-Baccalaureate Fellow (27) , Scientist (25) , Research Scientist (23) , Biologist (22) , Program Analyst (21) , Post Doctoral Fellow (20) , Visiting Fellow (20)

What are the pros of working at NIH according to real employee reviews?

"The people are great and having a role in biomedical research is rewarding" ((in 141 reviews)); "Benefits are great and as expected" ((in 124 reviews)); "good work/life balance and super friendly teammates" ((in 73 reviews)); "Great lab and colleagues." ((in 54 reviews)); "Great opportunity to be mentored and grow as a scientist" ((in 47 reviews))

What are the cons of working at NIH according to real employee reviews?

"Low salaries and lack of benefit." ((in 74 reviews)); "can become repetitive, sometime poor management, same activity repeated," ((in 30 reviews)); "Corrupt leadership, erosion of standards" ((in 14 reviews)); "Certain managers (and this is a systematic problem government wide) that focus on promotion based on "time in grade" rather than job performance." ((in 10 reviews)); "much favoritism about characteristics, size, and personal behavior come in to play with who gets picked as a permanent staff person at NIH." ((in 8 reviews))

What are employees saying about NIH layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed NIH locations?

Bethesda , Rockville , Washington , Baltimore , Frederick , Durham , Gaithersburg , Silver Spring , Research Triangle Park , New York , North Bethesda , Phoenix , Raleigh , Boston , Herndon , Maryland Heights , Houston , Columbia , Bowie , Cambridge , Shady Grove , Little Falls , New Brunswick , Wayne , Princeton , Chicago , Kewanee , Annandale , Clifton , Reston

NIH reviews

4.1

80% would recommend to a friend

(2,341 total reviews)

Francis S. Collins

82% approve of CEO

60% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.2

Culture & values

4.2

Diversity & inclusion

4.1

Work/Life balance

3.9

Compensation and benefits

3.9

Career opportunities

3.8

Senior management

NIH has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,341 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The NIH employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

3.0

Feb 3, 2015

Great to work at NIH

Research fellow

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good research opportunities and work environment

Cons

research is slow because of sequestration

4.0

Feb 1, 2015

Despite being a government bureaucracy, a fantastic place to work.

Postdoctoral research fellow

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great pay and good benefits. The facilities, equipment, funding, and training opportunities are amazing. You can do research at the NIH that you wouldn't be able to do elsewhere. I've had fantastic interactions with very genuine, helpful, and brilliant people.

Cons

Lots of bureaucratic red tape that slows things down compared with an academic or industry setting. Getting competing quotes and having to wait so long when placing orders can cause delays. Work and research space is limited.

3.0

Jan 31, 2015

Senior Mechanical Engineer

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The work they do is important, well executed and interesting. Coworkers are excellent to work with. Managers are dedicated.

Cons

The management is good , but not excellent. There is no program of training to keep skills up to date. (There could be but management doesn't seem to have time.)

Viewing 2038 - 2040 of 2,341 Reviews

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Jobs at NIH

Computational Biologist

NIH

NIH reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Great to work at NIH

Despite being a government bureaucracy, a fantastic place to work.

Senior Mechanical Engineer

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