Is Penn State a good company to work for?

Penn State has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on over 5,442 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months. 77% of employees would recommend working at Penn State to a friend and 56% 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 decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Penn State?

77% of Penn State employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Penn State 4.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 3.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Penn State?

Graduate Research Assistant (392) , Research Assistant (323) , Teaching Assistant (95) , 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 300 reviews)); "The people are great and friendly" ((in 265 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 179 reviews)); "Good work environment and lots of learning." ((in 97 reviews)); "Nice and friendly staff." ((in 95 reviews))

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

"Very low pay and no chance for a raise unless you change jobs within the university." ((in 330 reviews)); "2， salary is low" ((in 168 reviews)); "poor management and sometimes toxic" ((in 74 reviews)); "The organization is not diverse or especially aware of its lack of diversity." ((in 26 reviews)); "Senior leadership won't invest in fixing root causes." ((in 24 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

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Penn State

Penn State reviews

4.2

77% would recommend to a friend

(1,129 total reviews)

Eric J. Barron

72% approve of CEO

56% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.1

Diversity & inclusion

4.0

Work/Life balance

3.9

Culture & values

3.7

Career opportunities

3.6

Senior management

3.6

Compensation and benefits

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

1K reviews

Reviews about "Compensation"

Return to all reviews

4.0

May 30, 2022

A Reliable Employer

Graduate assistant - teaching

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Penn State provides great benefits for its graduate assistant employees. My pay was appropriate, and my supervisors were supportive and did not micromanage.

Cons

Pay can vary considerably based on your department and status, and the minimum pay can be very low. Workloads can sometimes make it difficult to fulfill responsibilities as both a student and employee.

2.0

May 27, 2022

Low pay

Multimedia specialist ii

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

very lazy culture of not doing work

Cons

Each unit is different and rules are based on what managers of the department say, Centralization of HR is horrible. PSU comes first over employees. Then students needs over faculty. Big class system within employees. Same office has exempt or non-exempt and everyone is treated differently. Boast about good benefits but they're not good. Don't qualify or have to be on the phone several times with HR and get different information each time.

3.0

May 26, 2022

Stable, but behind the times. I'm frustrated.

Analyst

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Working as professional staff and have had good job security. No fear of layoffs. Several different units in the university so you can move around without leaving.

Cons

Salary increase has been avg 1% for the last 10 years. Frustrating IT environment. Three, going on 4 different, unintegrated ERPs. No data governance. Very decentralized. Senior leadership won't invest in fixing root causes.

Viewing 436 - 438 of 1,129 Reviews

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