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 65 reviews)); "Good benefits and culture." ((in 38 reviews)); "Great staff I enjoyed my time there." ((in 21 reviews)); "Great coworkers and behind the scenes access to museum collections" ((in 17 reviews)); "Great mentorship, friendly work environment, vigorous research, generous stipend, opportunities to connect with other branches within Smithsonian" ((in 14 reviews))

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

"Low pay and no promotion oportunity" ((in 29 reviews)); "Low salary for DC metropolitan area" ((in 15 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)); "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

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 demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

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).

Reviews by job title

508 reviews

5.0

Nov 11, 2020

A great place to work and learn

Program coordinator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Supportive, people-oriented internal culture and administration Highly professional, strong on-boarding and HR support Support for professional development Varied clientele, strong community collaborations Incredible name recognition, well-resourced even in times of crisis

Cons

Multiple large projects with minimal staffing

3.0

Apr 10, 2019

Nothing Will Change

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Nice prestige, great objects, occasional perks, some great people.

Cons

Broken culture with caste system means a lot of staff works themselves to the bone for little money with no job security while upper-level staff shovel the work down but take the glory.

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

Viewing 13 - 15 of 508 Reviews

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Jobs at Smithsonian

Museum Specialist (General)

Collections Move Coordinator

Museum Specialist (General)

Administrative Officer

Smithsonian

Smithsonian reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

A great place to work and learn

Nothing Will Change

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

Top companies for "Compensation and Benefits" near you

Jobs at Smithsonian