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 63 reviews)); "Good benefits and bear transit" ((in 34 reviews)); "Great staff I enjoyed my time there." ((in 20 reviews)); "Great coworkers and behind the scenes access to museum collections" ((in 18 reviews)); "Amazing opportunities to work on global projects and collaborate with internationally celebrated artists and scholars." ((in 17 reviews))

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

"Slow moving and low pay." ((in 26 reviews)); "Lack of leadership and hard to fire" ((in 13 reviews)); "Low salary for DC metropolitan area" ((in 12 reviews)); "Unpaid internship where I was doing some of the same work that paid employees were doing." ((in 12 reviews)); "Long hours and very administrative at times" ((in 8 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

(508 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 508 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

508 reviews

3.0

Jan 8, 2016

It will work

Inventory property manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay, awesome museums, ok working enivorment

Cons

lack of leadership, managers dont know how to manage, favoritism and hiring under the table without putting the announcement out to qualified individuals

3.0

Dec 18, 2015

Overwhelming

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Amazing opportunities to learn from the best Lots of interesting challenges to overcome Intelligent and driven co-workers Beautiful workplace both the public facing and staff only parts of the building

Cons

Lack of support both financially and within the staff can be incredibly frustrating and hold up progress There is a real lack of collegiality between staff. Everyone is incredibly overworked and busy so they are often stretched too thin to get to know each other help out with other projects and management often has to cancel meetings where you needed to check in and feel more supported

4.0

Nov 3, 2015

Great People - Lots of Challenges

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It's amazing to work for an organization dedicated to education and to making informal learning fun. My coworkers were wonderful, passionate people for the most part, who were honestly trying to make a difference. Benefits package is phenomenal.

Cons

The Smithsonian is severely understaffed these days and there's a great divide between what senior management believes makes sense and what employees on the ground know to be true about our visitors and stakeholders. A lot of departments operated in a fairly siloed manner and it can be difficult to convince people in other departments to work with you.

Viewing 67 - 69 of 508 Reviews

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Jobs at Smithsonian

Museum Specialist (General)

Collections Move Coordinator

Museum Specialist (General)