Does Harvard University pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Harvard University employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.8 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Harvard University. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Harvard University?

84% of Harvard University employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Harvard University 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 4.0 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Harvard University?

Research Assistant (271) , Postdoctoral Fellow (230) , PhD Student (100) , Graduate Student (93) , Research Associate (85) , Teaching Fellow (67) , Teaching Assistant (63) , Graduate Research Assistant (59) , PhD Graduate Student (50) , Staff Assistant (50) , Program Coordinator (43) , Research Fellow (43) , Researcher (41) , Director (35) , Intern (34)

What are the pros of working at Harvard University according to real employee reviews?

"Nice to work with and the people are great." ((in 294 reviews)); "great colleagues to work and discuss with" ((in 146 reviews)); "Flexibility and good work/life balance" ((in 95 reviews)); "The hours are flexible and fairly easy" ((in 95 reviews)); "Good work environment" ((in 70 reviews))

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

"Low pay but high for education" ((in 219 reviews)); "Salaries are low but I believe this to be the case in higher ed more generally." ((in 149 reviews)); "Toxic culture (depending on lab/department)" ((in 45 reviews)); "Toxic managers and workplaces were tolerated if the work got done." ((in 26 reviews)); "Low compensation (although most higher ed is)" ((in 20 reviews))

What are employees saying about Harvard University redundancies in 2026?

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

Harvard University Reviews

4.2

84% would recommend to a friend

(4,067 total reviews)

Alan Garber

83% approve of CEO

69% positive business outlook

Harvard University has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 4,067 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Harvard University employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

4K reviews

5.0

25 June 2026

Great research experience

Phd student

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

A PhD is always very advisor/PI dependent, but I had a great experience with room to learn, grow, and explore interesting research questions. As with any PhD program you’ll work pretty hard for relatively lower pay and perhaps less directly applicable industry career trajectory at the end, but if you find good people to tackle the journey with and get to work on interesting problems I personally think the journey is worthwhile!

Cons

Less of a program wide cohort in my particular engineering field. Some funding challenges with the govt last year but seem mostly back now, apart from the recent administration issues funding wasn’t generally a challenge

5.0

23 June 2026

Outstanding academic environment

Research fellow

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Unparalleled academic environment, virtually unlimited resources

Cons

Competitive on many fronts, research somewhat segregated by department

4.0

22 June 2026

Valuable learning experience, but low pay

Grad student

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Learned a lot, was helpful

Cons

Low pay, but it was manageable

Viewing 1 - 3 of 4,067 Reviews

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Jobs at Harvard University