Does Smithsonian pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Smithsonian employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.7 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Smithsonian. This rating has improved by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Smithsonian?

66% of Smithsonian employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Smithsonian 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Smithsonian?

Intern (56) , Internship (13) , Explainer (10) , Retail Sales Associate (9) , Sales Associate (9) , Contractor (8) , Postdoctoral Fellow (8) , Research Assistant (8) , Museum Specialist (7) , Program Coordinator (7) , Security Officer (7) , Archivist (6) , Curator (6) , Education Specialist (6) , Program Assistant (6)

What are the pros of working at Smithsonian according to real employee reviews?

"And you will meet so many great people (tourist) from all over the world." ((in 67 reviews)); "Smithsonian has pretty good benefits" ((in 34 reviews)); "Great staff I enjoyed my time there." ((in 21 reviews)); "Coworkers are friendly and well" ((in 17 reviews)); "Working NMAH was a great opportunity to contribute to a public facing organization and learn new skills." ((in 17 reviews))

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

"Low pay and no promotion oportunity" ((in 26 reviews)); "Lack of leadership and hard to fire" ((in 14 reviews)); "Unpaid internship where I was doing some of the same work that paid employees were doing." ((in 12 reviews)); "Low salary for DC metropolitan area" ((in 11 reviews)); "Long hours and very administrative at times" ((in 10 reviews))

What are the top reviewed Smithsonian locations?

Washington , Chantilly , New York , Suitland , Arlington , Chicago , Front Royal , Annapolis , Edgewater , District Heights , Falls Church , Herndon , Manassas , Sterling , Wisconsin Rapids , Tucson , Ann Arbor , Burlington , Saint Cloud , Shepherdstown , San Diego , Berkeley , Las Vegas , Ruston , Seattle , Catonsville , Columbia , California , Chevy Chase , Fort Washington

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Smithsonian

Smithsonian reviews

4.1

66% would recommend to a friend

(510 total reviews)

Dr. David J. Skorton

75% approve of CEO

64% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.3

Diversity & inclusion

4.1

Work/Life balance

4.0

Culture & values

3.7

Compensation and benefits

3.4

Senior management

3.4

Career opportunities

Smithsonian has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 510 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Smithsonian employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Nonprofit & NGO industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

510 reviews

4.0

Nov 25, 2016

NMAI is a great forward thinking place mired in typical gov mumbo jumbo

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Being one of the newest museums NMAI has a lot of young, passionate folks. There are also a lot of actual Native Americans truly committed to the mission after years of waiting for the museum to be ready. The museum is less focused on traditional trail of tears type stuff, and more focused on broadening the definition of native people as it's a very diverse group.

Cons

Lots of management nonsense - for example, they wanted the media team to move over to the Suitland location but they are really tied to what's going on the Mall so the team got split and rotate days between the two locations. Very confusing set up and odd management decision

5.0

Nov 21, 2016

Volunteer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting work, culturally immersive, relaxed

Cons

Only a volunteer, didn't have time to find cons

5.0

Nov 1, 2016

Natural History Museum - Intern

Intern - monthly

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

As an intern in the Department of Invertebrate Zoology I was working with some of the world's leading researchers on all things invertebrate. Everybody was down to earth and inclusive. We regularly had guest speakers via Skype during lunch hours. Often went out to lunch and for meals. Overall it was a fun environment to be in.

Cons

At the time Metro was under construction so commuting was sometimes difficult. D.C. is a pricey area.

Viewing 382 - 384 of 510 Reviews

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