Is Penn State a good company to work for?

Penn State has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on over 5,421 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 been stable over the past 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, 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 (70) , Graduate Assistant (68) , Intern (53) , Postdoctoral Scholar (48) , Assistant Professor (46) , Student Worker (44) , Undergraduate Research Assistant (44) , Postdoctoral Fellow (41) , 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 306 reviews)); "The people are great and friendly" ((in 261 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 187 reviews)); "Nice and friendly staff." ((in 99 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 330 reviews)); "2， salary is low" ((in 170 reviews)); "poor management and sometimes toxic" ((in 74 reviews)); "The organization is not diverse or especially aware of its lack of diversity." ((in 24 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 Penn State locations have received the highest employee ratings?

Allentown , Malvern , Philadelphia , New York , Reading , Middletown , Erie , Scranton , Penn State University , State College

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Penn State

Penn State reviews

4.2

77% would recommend to a friend

(4,977 total reviews)

Eric J. Barron

73% approve of CEO

56% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.2

Diversity & inclusion

4.0

Culture & values

4.0

Work/Life balance

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 4,977 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

2.0

Oct 24, 2017

IT not valued

Information technology support specialist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits are excellent, employees get discounts all around town.

Cons

IT (and staff in general) are underappreciated by PSU since they have a monopoly on jobs in this county. Little effort is put into recognizing or rewarding excellence or achievement if you aren't faculty or administration.

4.0

Oct 10, 2017

Penn State University Applied Research Lab (ARL)

Undergraduate researcher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Extremely smart and talented staff, abundant opportunity to work on different projects, ability to move around departments easily, laid back approach to R&D while still meeting or exceeding project goals, not overbearing or "over your shoulder" with supervision of your projects

Cons

Feels like you're on your own once you're hired, have to learn the ins and outs of the lab by seeking somebody out to ask them, lots of bureaucracy since you're dealing with public and university money and contracts from clients

5.0

Sep 13, 2017

IT lab technician

It lab technician

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- Flexible hours - Studying time

Cons

- Terrible management, do not care about employees for the most part

Viewing 46 - 48 of 4,977 Reviews

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Jobs at Penn State