Is Penn State a good company to work for?

Penn State has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on over 5,439 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months. 78% of employees would recommend working at Penn State to a friend and 57% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Penn State have been left by employees working as Student Grader , Undergraduate Teaching Assistant and Lab Assistant .

Does Penn State pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Penn State employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Penn State. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Penn State?

78% of Penn State employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Penn State 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Penn State?

Graduate Research Assistant (392) , Research Assistant (323) , Teaching Assistant (96) , Graduate Student (74) , Graduate Teaching Assistant (71) , Graduate Assistant (68) , Intern (53) , Postdoctoral Scholar (48) , Assistant Professor (46) , Student Worker (44) , Undergraduate Research Assistant (44) , Postdoctoral Fellow (43) , PhD Student (39) , Learning Assistant (38) , Postdoctoral Researcher (35)

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

"Great benefits and protected by the union is a plus" ((in 321 reviews)); "The people are great and friendly" ((in 257 reviews)); "The hours are flexible and you can choose when you want to come into lab as long as you get your work done." ((in 184 reviews)); "Good work environment" ((in 95 reviews)); "Nice and friendly staff." ((in 93 reviews))

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

"Very boring and structured as well as low paying." ((in 318 reviews)); "2， salary is low" ((in 178 reviews)); "poor management and sometimes toxic" ((in 77 reviews)); "The organization is not diverse or especially aware of its lack of diversity." ((in 27 reviews)); "Senior leadership won't invest in fixing root causes." ((in 25 reviews))

What are employees saying about Penn State layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Penn State locations?

State College , University Park , Erie , Penn State University , Hershey , Harrisburg , Abington , Philadelphia , Altoona , Malvern , Middletown , Penn , Pittsburgh , Reading , York , Media , Monaca , Scranton , Allentown , New York , Lancaster , Washington , Center Valley , McKeesport , University Park , Los Angeles , Schuylkill Haven , University Park , Reston , Lehigh Valley

Penn State reviews

4.2

78% would recommend to a friend

(4,993 total reviews)

Eric J. Barron

73% approve of CEO

57% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (4,993 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Penn State has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 4,993 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Penn State 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

5K reviews

4.0

Oct 29, 2015

Nice area

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Area culture is great if you like small towns.

Cons

Weather can be rough in the winter.

5.0

Oct 28, 2015

Great place to work!

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Had a great experience as a graduate student at Penn State. I would love to go back and work there sometime in the future

Cons

No real major concerns working at Penn State, I think the staff there is great and deserves plenty of praise moving forward

5.0

Oct 28, 2015

Rec Sports Supervisor

Campus rec supervisor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Best student job you could ever ask for. Flexible Hours, amazing coworkers, supervisors that trusted you and gave you more responsibilities as you asked for them, fun work atmosphere and subject matter. You get paid to oversee sports!

Cons

If I had to really fish for a negative, it would be that for some of the seasons you can face some pretty miserable weather, but that should be expected for sports.

Viewing 4330 - 4332 of 4,993 Reviews

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Jobs at Penn State

Student Library Assistant

Part-Time Wage Payroll

Part-Time Horse Barn Worker

Woskob Gallery Program Support

Penn State

Penn State reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Nice area

Great place to work!

Rec Sports Supervisor

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at Penn State