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 143 reviews)); "good benefits and pro." ((in 133 reviews)); "Flexible and good work/life balance" ((in 74 reviews)); "Great lab and colleagues." ((in 57 reviews)); "Great opportunity to be mentored and grow as a scientist" ((in 46 reviews))

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

"Low salaries and lack of benefit." ((in 77 reviews)); "can become repetitive, sometime poor management, same activity repeated," ((in 28 reviews)); "too much bureaucracy and regulations" ((in 13 reviews)); "Corrupt leadership, erosion of standards" ((in 12 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 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

5.0

Mar 25, 2014

Incredible place to work

Intern

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The NIH is a world-class center for research in Bethesda, Maryland. The people who are PIs are NIH are frequently people who were doing top, top work at their previous institutions, and then get offered positions at NIH which they take because of the more secure funding. Despite this, it can be harder to maintain a very very large lab at NIH, but changes in lab size are much more graded than in academia outside NIH.

Cons

As in all scientific research, your work-life balance will suffer. If you're working at NIH outside of R&D though, your life is probably fine.

5.0

Mar 24, 2014

A good place to be

Postdoctoral research fellow

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Work environment. Access to cutting edge science, collaborators, and instrumentation.

Cons

Because of the bureaucracy, it takes months for the yearly budgets to get passed effectively leaving the labs to operate on no money during this period.

4.0

Mar 16, 2014

NIH -- Making a difference

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The people who choose to work at NIH do it because they care about creating new medical knowledge that advances human health. They have the right values and believe that they are making a difference -- which turns out to be true. They are.

Cons

In the current political climate, congressional support for all basic research and science has been on the decline, which is causing painful choices about what can be supported within NIH. Also, DHHS rules, especially around travel, make it hard to get things done.

Viewing 2110 - 2112 of 2,341 Reviews

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Johnson & Johnson

4.1★Compensation & Benefits

Pfizer

3.7★Compensation & Benefits

GSK

4.0★Compensation & Benefits

Merck

4.1★Compensation & Benefits

Jobs at NIH

Computational Biologist

Immigration Specialist

Montgomery Village, MD

NIH

NIH reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Incredible place to work

A good place to be

NIH -- Making a difference

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at NIH

NIH reviews FAQs

Want the inside scoop on your own company?

Bowls

Followed companies

Job searches

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at NIH

NIH reviews FAQs