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 139 reviews)); "Good benefits and thrift savings plan (like a 401K) with up to 4% employer contribution per year." ((in 125 reviews)); "Flexible and good work/life balance" ((in 75 reviews)); "Great lab and colleagues." ((in 58 reviews)); "Great opportunity to be mentored and grow as a scientist" ((in 49 reviews))

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

"Low salaries and lack of benefit." ((in 79 reviews)); "can become repetitive, sometime poor management, same activity repeated," ((in 29 reviews)); ""Bad" Departments has poor leadership, micromanage and terrible behaviors unbecoming of what a manager should be." ((in 14 reviews)); "too much bureaucracy and regulations" ((in 13 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 9 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 demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

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).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

4.0

Aug 1, 2014

Good

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Many training opportnities, leadership, time

Cons

perks, office, layoff, low payment

4.0

Jul 31, 2014

Sometimes overwhelming but also a great opportunity

Visiting fellow

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.

4.0

Jul 30, 2014

Good, although a bit dysfunctional

Medical director

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Talent, work being conducted is extraordinary!

Cons

it's like the UN and there are so many divisions no one knows whos, whos

Viewing 2089 - 2091 of 2,341 Reviews

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Jobs at NIH

Computational Biologist

Postdoctoral Fellowship

NIH

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Good

Sometimes overwhelming but also a great opportunity

Good, although a bit dysfunctional

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