Flexible, with decent pay, but almost unbearably weird - Academic Advisor Virginia Tech Employee Review

3.0
2 Jan 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Workdays for almost all staff are staggeringly flexible; most FT staff have 1-3 remote days a week that serve as additional weekend days. This is gradually shifting, but everyone is very candid about work-life balance and it's a huge part of the culture. Both within and outside my department, supervisors encourage and welcome leaving the office space, taking lengthy lunches, using additional remote days, etc. Pay is market pretty much regardless of position, but this may become a con as Blacksburg rents have completely outpaced wage positions and will outpace entry-level salaries within the next couple years. If you move to Blacksburg, you can elect to work at Tech for the rest of your life. I think this is a pretty nice perk. It's certainly not something that would be enshrined at most similar schools. Even if you're fired multiple times (as was the case with a few of my colleagues) you'll still find that opportunities in relevant fields will keep cropping up indefinitely. The region just doesn't attract enough outside talent, for better or worse.

Cons

Not sure if this fully grasps the problem but: Job culture is limited entirely to faculty. Staff do not socialize, network, or engage with one another and interdepartmental squabbling and general meanness--often based on historical or vague grievances--isn't uncommon. After the shooting, and on-pace with the expansion of higher ed admins nationwide, Tech created a massive number of positions to care for and monitor students; these were filled by younger professionals with less attachment to a previously Appalachian, rural, and mostly conservative "Hokie" culture. The gap is noticeable, frustrating, and uncanny: Older staff cling to positions they've long outgrown while newer staff--often with big skillsets, good ideas, and positive attitudes--constantly rotate out, understandably frustrated with their blundering, retirement-blinded colleagues. It's very strange. Mixed with the massive flexibility, the antisocial environment ensures that layoffs feel like a constantly looming possibility. I want to emphasize that I have worked at multiple universities and while this kind of dynamic is common, it hasn't struck me anywhere as much as it has here.

Explore other reviews about Virginia Tech

5.0
30 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great culture and easy schedule.

Cons

Sometimes a bit unorganized but okay.

4.0
25 June 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice campus environment and supportive academic community.

Cons

Workload and communication can vary depending on the people you work with.

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