Does Sotheby's pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Sotheby's employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.1 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Sotheby's. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Sotheby's?

21% of Sotheby's employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Sotheby's 2.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.3 for culture and values and 2.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Sotheby's?

Intern (53) , Administrator (23) , Specialist (23) , Floater (18) , Exhibition Assistant (15) , Associate (13) , Internship (13) , Cataloger (11) , Coordinator (10) , Marketing (9) , cataloguer (9) , Manager (8) , Administrative Assistant (7) , Project Manager (7) , Art Handler (6)

What are the pros of working at Sotheby's according to real employee reviews?

"Colleagues are great and you get to work with wonderful clients and artworks" ((in 54 reviews)); "The people are great and working with art is amazing" ((in 54 reviews)); "Great team and intern class" ((in 18 reviews)); "Great opportunity to get to know the auction and private sale art market at a prestigious art auction house!" ((in 14 reviews)); "Great working environment in the office" ((in 13 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Sotheby's according to real employee reviews?

"pay is low and not appreciated" ((in 75 reviews)); "low salary and not much prospect" ((in 47 reviews)); "Long hours and weekends sometimes" ((in 18 reviews)); "Not very good compensation and no work/life balance" ((in 16 reviews)); "Elitist culture, long hours are expected, laughable benefits compared to other companies in the same tier, formal dress" ((in 14 reviews))

What are employees saying about Sotheby's layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Sotheby's locations?

New York , Los Angeles , Miami , Charleston , Midtown New York , Margate City , Chicago , College Point , Port Chester , Lafayette , Sonoma , Aspen , Seattle , Atlanta , Upper East Side

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Sotheby's

Sotheby's reviews

2.5

21% would recommend to a friend

(650 total reviews)

Charles F. Stewart

12% approve of CEO

22% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

2.6

Work/Life balance

2.6

Career opportunities

2.3

Culture & values

2.2

Diversity & inclusion

2.1

Compensation and benefits

2.0

Senior management

Sotheby's has an employee rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars, based on 650 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Sotheby's employee rating is 29% below average for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

650 reviews

2.0

Jun 8, 2023

Poor management and low pay

Exhibition assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

People don’t stay long here.

Cons

Management is poor, very underpaid

2.0

Nov 29, 2022

Emotionally Damaging

Sale administrator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Sometimes interesting and always fast-paced with an extremely heavy workload so at least you'll never be bored. Beautiful art and interesting colleagues. Decent benefits package.

Cons

Deeply questionable management practices, and little room for upward growth or mobility. Low pay even for the industry.

2.0

Mar 23, 2022

Run from this company.

Administrator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- being exposed to such a wide variety of art and luxury goods - access to interesting network of coworkers and clients - opportunity to build up resume in a notoriously difficult work environment - very good healthcare benefits and commuter benefit

Cons

- lower headcount and higher volume than in years past - inept management - unprofessional behavior and "personalities" exhibited by staffers of all ages and stages in their careers - poor salary - demanding hours / heavy workload - new divisions (e.g. Marketplace) introduced to clients before operational support existed

Viewing 55 - 57 of 650 Reviews

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Jobs at Sotheby's

VP, Accounting Policy