Does Sonoma State pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Sonoma State employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.4 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Sonoma State. This rating has improved by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Sonoma State?

79% of Sonoma State employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Sonoma State 3.9 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.7 for culture and values and 3.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Sonoma State?

Student Assistant (20) , Residential Advisor (5) , Adjunct Professor (4) , Lecturer (4) , Professor (3) , Usher (3) , Accountant (2) , Administrative Analyst (2) , Analyst (2) , Campus Tour Guide (2) , Coordinator (2) , Instructional Student Assistant (2) , Research Fellow (2) , Server/Waiter (2) , Student Research Assistant (2)

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

"Benefits are great but that’s for any CSU campus" ((in 19 reviews)); "Great people to work with." ((in 16 reviews)); "The campus is beautiful and the community here is even better." ((in 13 reviews)); "Very down to earth place to work overall, good staff /team." ((in 12 reviews)); "Good coworkers and fun job" ((in 8 reviews))

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

"Low pay; limited support / resources" ((in 21 reviews)); "Little to no room for growth, no performance based pay increase" ((in 3 reviews)); "Remote options are very limited, low pay, upper management rarely shows appreciation, staff is treated as less important than faculty, bad managers remain in power despite their failings, additional duties are constantly added to job duties without additional compensation, many staff work in cubicles instead of offices, very limited professional development and growth opportunities offered." ((in 3 reviews)); "Morale is low." ((in 3 reviews)); "The leadership is completely out of touch with reality and are living in a bubble of what is truly needed for students." ((in 2 reviews))

What are employees saying about Sonoma State layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Sonoma State layoffs and their outlook for job security at Sonoma State in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Sonoma State locations?

Rohnert Park , Sonoma , Santa Rosa , Sacramento , Lafayette , San Francisco , Bodega Bay , Petaluma , Tracy

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Sonoma State

Sonoma State reviews

3.9

79% would recommend to a friend

(245 total reviews)

Ruben Armiñana

52% approve of CEO

51% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.0

Diversity & inclusion

3.9

Work/Life balance

3.7

Culture & values

3.5

Senior management

3.4

Compensation and benefits

3.4

Career opportunities

Sonoma State has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 245 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Sonoma 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

245 reviews

4.0

May 2, 2016

It's been great.

Help desk assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Management is extremely open to help. Very understanding.

Cons

Sometimes negative work place to be at.

5.0

Nov 30, 2014

Awesome Place to Grow

Assistant programmer (event planner)

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great learning environment, supervisors, and coworkers

Cons

pay is what you would expect for student workers (low), structure is very rigid and rule based, takes a long time to get paperwork through the system

3.0

Aug 24, 2014

great environment, but no growth opportunities

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits are great (health insurance, education, sick/vacation time), inspiring to work in higher education since so many opportunities to learn and work with interesting young students.

Cons

The difficulty lies in the pay---they always hire at the bottom of the 'range' with almost no chance whatsoever to move up the payscale. If you come from the private sector it can be a shock to work in a complex bureaucracy like a public university. Not a dynamic, agile environment for putting ideas into practice if you are on the staff or admin.

Viewing 13 - 15 of 245 Reviews

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Jobs at Sonoma State

Disability Management Advisor (Student Services Professional III)

Project Rebound Advisor (Student Services Professional III), Fixed-Term

NAGPRA Administrative Specialist, Administrative Analyst/Specialist, Non-Exempt, Part time, Hourly, Temporary

Pre-Admissions Counselor, Student Services Professional II, Temporary

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