Harvard University Reviews

Pros

A harvard degree is worthy

Cons

This is an incredibly competitive environment

Advice to Senior Management

treat junior faculties better

Pros

Great benefits - can take classes almost for free, access to Harvard's rich resources, working for an organization with an important mission.

Cons

Lots of bureaucracy, things move at a glacial pace, hard to get things done, high degree of silos and lack of collaboration between schools/units.

Advice to Senior Management

Empower employees to make decisions! I think many people are afraid to try things because they're afraid of making mistakes.

Pros

Always working with cutting-edge technology, brilliant people and great informal atmosphere. Freedom of choice in software platforms used. Environment fosters learning. Lots of free food!

Cons

- Glass ceilings exist for certain job types
- Difficult to practice formal management techniques.
- Sometimes being too informal dilutes job responsibilities

Advice to Senior Management

Research lab leaders are not your traditional managers. But they do surprise you sometimes with some great decisions. I think some amount of formal training is required to keep checks in the way individual personalities come in between tasks and people.

Pros

Flexible jobs for term time makes it great to be a student and work at the same time. Management is often good.

Cons

Work is often menial, and the nature of the university makes it hard to incite change. Decisions are often made by people not familiar with the jobs.

Advice to Senior Management

Leadership of the various different organizations is good, especially student involvement. Encouraging more innovation and experimenting would be even better.

Pros

The benefits package is exceptional and you have access to world-class researchers in public health. The work-life balance is very good, work hours are reasonable and pay is okay.

Cons

The systems that govern the school (decentralized systems mean that sometimes nobody knows who is supposed to be doing what) are unwieldy and employees can get caught in the tangle. If you aren't in an academic track, it can be hard to advance.

Advice to Senior Management

Focus on empowering administrative staff to run their programs and have clear systems for job responsibilities so you don't end up with every position saying "I thought somebody else was doing that"

Pros

Harvard values professional growth and will allow folks with a starting skill set to achieve and learn more. There is great opportunity for paid continuing education.

Cons

Harvard has a strong culture that is not always entrepreneurial. " Every boat on its own bottom" philosophy often gets in the way of cooperation.

Advice to Senior Management

Harvard can offer a better student experience by eliminating the administrative walls between schools and invest in single administrative systems school wide.

Pros

Research environment is great, a lot of good scientists to discuss. very rewarding. good benefit in terms of temporary job.

Cons

very competitive, it is not a long term job. needs to find another job fairly quick. the weather in boston is pretty bad.

Pros

Its a huge multifaceted organization working on lots of interesting topics. Lots of resources and it is generally encouraged to engage other groups across the University.

Cons

The reason that it is encouraged is likely because, as much as people may try to resolve it, the individual institutions are ultimately very isolated from one another.

Advice to Senior Management

Being direct & open about current & future state is best. Communication is key to trust.

Pros

Some schools treat their employees with respect, pay competitive wages, and stress a work/life balance.

Cons

I don't work at one of those schools. I make at least $30K less than I would be if I went federal or to another university. The demands are psychotic, and the sense of entitlement in this hierarchical hellhole is severe. I would not recommend working here to anyone. The turnover is frighteningly high, there are NO opportunities to professional development due to budgetary constraints, and your manager will be just as stressed out as you-and will take it out on you. The level of disorganization here is horrific.

Advice to Senior Management

There is a massive, clear divide between upper management and everyone else. We support you. We make you look good. Pay attention to our needs, pay us a living wage, and don't make absurd demands-unless you want the rest of your staff to depart as nearly half has in the last year.

Pros

The hours for this job have been amazing. I can work as many or as few hours per week as I'd like for most of the year.

Cons

The pay isn't very appealing. But, then again, one cannot expect to be pair a great deal to do research without a PhD.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work. I like that the management allows research assistances a great deal of autonomy, but it is tedious.