Is Penn State a good company to work for?

Penn State has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on over 5,430 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 3.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Penn State?

Graduate Research Assistant (390) , Research Assistant (322) , 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 338 reviews)); "The people are great and friendly" ((in 256 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 182 reviews)); "Nice and friendly staff." ((in 102 reviews)); "Good work environment" ((in 99 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 334 reviews)); "2， salary is low" ((in 174 reviews)); "poor management and sometimes toxic" ((in 75 reviews)); "The organization is not diverse or especially aware of its lack of diversity." ((in 29 reviews)); "Poor leadership and human resources does nothing about it" ((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 , Stroudsburg

Penn State reviews

4.2

78% would recommend to a friend

(4,986 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

3.8

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 4,986 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

3.0

Jun 2, 2014

Lots of learn, not a lot of money

Research technologist i

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Environment is conducive to learning new skills and flexible for life events.

Cons

No overtime, very few, small raises. Raises are based on length of employment, not quality of work, so there isn't a lot of motivation from salaried positions.

4.0

May 31, 2014

Enjoyable and challenging until you hit the plateau

Systems administrator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Biggest and one of the best employers in the area. IT people left other nearby companies to work for Penn State. Many who gain employment by the university stay and develop long careers in higher education. Retirement benefits are strong: the university contributes 9% to a 403(b) plan or you can opt for the state employees pension plan. Health care benefits are mediocre. PTO is 24 days per year for full-time staff plus another 10 paid holidays. In my opinion, that is the best benefit of all. Depending on the department, you may have many opportunities for professional development. I did, and enjoyed the travel to courses and conferences around the country. I really enjoyed working with coworkers who wanted to work and had some life in them. However, there were too many folks who got in and then got lazy. They did the bare minimum and made work difficult for the rest. Amongst good employees, there is a culture of pride in the work done and in serving the students and faculty so that Penn State could accomplish its mission.

Cons

Compensation differs greatly from department to department for the same kind of job. Once you have mastered your job, if the management says there's no room for growth, the only way to stay challenged is to apply to other positions within the university or outside. There is no promotion plan. In the central IT unit, there are too many layers of management, making bureaucracy a real problem. It takes a long time to get things done. Good ideas often rot on the vine because of the slow nature of university management.

4.0

May 31, 2014

A reasonable institution to work for, but with a lot of the bureaucratic issues that come from >50,000 students.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Many of the employees care for the students and their learning and work hard to re-assess where students are getting "stuck." The benefits are quite good, and the health insurance is fairly inclusive. The campus brings in outside resources, such as a large variety of speakers, that provides a more diverse setting.

Cons

The management has some large scale bureaucratic issues that due to the huge throughput of students. Pay discrepancies for similar positions and greater than 40 hour work weeks means that the employee must manage their work time efficiently.

Viewing 4657 - 4659 of 4,986 Reviews

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Jobs at Penn State

Buffet Attendant/Food Runner $15 per hour + tips

Student Library Assistant

Penn State

Penn State reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Lots of learn, not a lot of money

Enjoyable and challenging until you hit the plateau

A reasonable institution to work for, but with a lot of the bureaucratic issues that come from >50,000 students.

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