Is Penn State a good company to work for?

Penn State has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on over 5,435 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 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 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 3.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Penn State?

Graduate Research Assistant (391) , 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 312 reviews)); "The people are great and friendly" ((in 260 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 195 reviews)); "Nice and friendly staff." ((in 95 reviews)); "Good work environment and lots of learning." ((in 94 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 326 reviews)); "2， salary is low" ((in 178 reviews)); "poor management and sometimes toxic" ((in 72 reviews)); "The organization is not diverse or especially aware of its lack of diversity." ((in 26 reviews)); "Poor leadership and human resources does nothing about it" ((in 23 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 , Stroudsburg

Penn State reviews

4.2

78% would recommend to a friend

(4,991 total reviews)

Eric J. Barron

72% approve of CEO

56% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.2

Diversity & inclusion

4.1

Work/Life balance

4.0

Culture & values

3.7

Career opportunities

3.6

Senior management

3.6

Compensation and benefits

Penn State has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 4,991 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).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

5K reviews

4.0

Mar 16, 2015

Representative

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Self manage, its a new company so the higher ups let you do more with projects. making events is a lot of fun and getting people to join in is a lot of fun. Boss are super nice and try to be as helpful as they can.

Cons

Self manage, you truly are alone, and it is really all up to you. Getting people to take 5 minutes out of there day to sign up for a free website is harder than it sound, than again when you do get people to it feels great.

4.0

Mar 13, 2015

Being a graduate student researcher has its ups and downs.

Graduate assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It's great to be surrounded by some of the best and brightest people in the world, and research is almost never boring. My adviser as well as majority of the faculty and staff are very competent people. Additionally, I enjoy the company of my labmates for the most part, and when time permits, the State College social scene (be it restaurants, bars/clubs, or other entertainment) is decent.

Cons

Research can easily take over your life. As a result, it's a struggle to find a good work/life balance. Sometimes equipment breaks, things get misplaced or misused, or the lab might be dirty from the person before you. Additionally, a lot of the actual work culture (as a grad student) is dictated almost entirely by your adviser and/or labmates... This can be good or bad, but it's something to consider.

5.0

Mar 10, 2015

I worked as a Student Consultant at the Computer Center while I was in school at Behrend.

Student consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

All student consultants who were hired know their stuff, so you could count on another consultant to help if you didn't know the solution to a problem a student/faculty member was having.

Cons

Opening shifts were always hard to get to at 7:30 or 8:00 AM, but they were always easy because no students were awake to come get computer help. So this was a good time to do homework or whatever you needed to do.

Viewing 4519 - 4521 of 4,991 Reviews

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Jobs at Penn State

Student Library Assistant

Penn State

Penn State reviews

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Representative

Being a graduate student researcher has its ups and downs.

I worked as a Student Consultant at the Computer Center while I was in school at Behrend.

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