Is Penn State a good company to work for?

Penn State has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on over 5,420 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 58% 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 4.0 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 274 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 196 reviews)); "Good work environment and lots of learning." ((in 95 reviews)); "Nice and friendly staff." ((in 90 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 317 reviews)); "2， salary is low" ((in 181 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 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

Penn State reviews

4.2

78% would recommend to a friend

(4,976 total reviews)

Eric J. Barron

77% approve of CEO

58% 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 4,976 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

Nov 17, 2008

PSU Consultant good for current students

Computer lab consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great place to work during school. Pay is decent, easy to pick up more hours. Good way of learning more about technology. It is also a great job to put on a resume. Great for people with little experience. The position is also pretty laid back and low stress. It is also a great way to interact with other students and help them with computer problems.

Cons

They want you to work too many hours during school. This can hurt your studies and extra curricular activities. There are no benefits since you are a part time employee. Training is poor. Many things that people may not be able to do when first coming on board. Another bad thing is the people you work with are not that smart.

4.0

Nov 7, 2008

Go Lions

Graduate research assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Small town expenses and great place to live. Great libraries, and school system. The community is very safe. There are a lot of things to do in the town. It is very close to mountains and hikes and hence is great for people with liking for outdoor activities. The environment overall is very intellectually challenging if you are able to find the right group and right set of people. The crime rate is extremely low. The school system is good too. Working in the university offers some degree of job security. It is a good place to retire and especially if one is towards the end of the career and planning on moving to a quieter place.

Cons

It is not very close to any major cities

3.0

Oct 25, 2008

Penn State University ITS

Programmer/analyst

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Very flexible hours with work at home an option depending on what group you are in, and they have great benefits. The people are very friendly and easy to get along with, if not even somewhat odd, but in a fun way.

Cons

Very decentralized being a university, so when you need stakeholder support or direction from the top, good luck getting it. Many ideas stall out before they even really get started because too many groups have equal power to veto or just don't give the support you need.

Viewing 4966 - 4968 of 4,976 Reviews

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PSU Consultant good for current students

Go Lions

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