University of California Reviews

Pros

The location is great and so are the facilities that are provided. The most beneficial part about working here is the opportunity to work with great minds.

Cons

The salary for a student researchers is just enough to get buy with food and living expenses. You cannot really ask for more since you are working towards your education.

Advice to Senior Management

I am very satisfied with my work at the University of California. Some opportunities for graduate students to begin investing financially in their future would be a great addition.

Pros

In general, direct management cares about employee's development. However, there can be circumstances in which professional demands make it very difficult to balance personal life with work.

Cons

Some managers at UCSC can be quite difficult to deal with, and make balancing personal life with work and unexpected demands a challenge.

Advice to Senior Management

In general, UC employees care about student body development, and are in academia because they love what they do: teach and foster students academic development. Therefore, treat them with respect.

Pros

Reputation, first and foremost. The UC President's Postdoctoral Fellowship is one of the most prestigious postdoctoral fellowships in the United States. Your CV may go to a "better pile" when being considered for an academic position in the future. Theoretically, it also facilitates transition to tenured academic positions within the UC system, but lack of actual positions available for application ultimately make no difference for the fellow, who will likely and more easily get a job somewhere else outside the system. A great perk of this postdoctoral fellowship is that teaching is not allowed, leaving an unusual amount of time to advance research and publications. There are not many postdocs of this kind anywhere else. Program support for the fellows is very good (annual workshops, networking, etc.)

Cons

LOW salary. $41,200 in 2011, plus 4,000 in research funds (travel to conferences, translation services, educational materials, workshops, etc.). Considering the cost of life in California (especially rent), and the monthly financial weight of student loans (for those who have outstanding debt), the salary is more than tight. In fact, it is <very> tight.

Advice to Senior Management

The leadership of the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is excellent. They are really on top of fellows' needs, a well-oiled machine. However, UC in general, as an institution, is another story: day-to-day bureaucracy (for example, to get your expenses reimbursed) is a circuitous process that can really turn your nerves on.

Pros

Some people on the frontline doing actual work. Less and less of these numbers as new hires are pretty disappointing more often than not.

Cons

Terrible communication in that misleading (at the minimum and outright lies in some cases) communication is constantly spewed. Way too top heavy. While underlings are told to make due with less, top management is over-compensated with the famliiar refrain that we need to pay more to get and retain the best.

Advice to Senior Management

Nothing really because nothing will change unless a President is hired that is truly commited to higher education, rather than personal compensation. Look no further than that while student tuition has doubled in the tenure of the current administration, the President makes far more in total compensation than any previous leader.

Pros

Quality of students; colleagial and supportive culture

Cons

Budget constraints; hierarchical and can be bureaucratic

Pros

Stability. Friendly environment. Good benefit package. Relatively low-stress environment with cordial employees.

Cons

Less motivated atmosphere than other places I've worked. There was a limited potential for advancement.

Pros

Students are mostly enthusiastic, work time is flexible, and boss is usually not too pushy except for when deadline approaches.

Cons

Management is very layback and their responses can be very slow. Took months to get a simple paperwork completed. Some of the staffs are not professional .

Pros

Very flexible schedule for studying and other organizational responsibilities.

Cons

The routine of tasks from month to month gets boring.

Pros

Great place to work at as they are very conforming to your school schedule

Cons

It can become hard with studies

Advice to Senior Management

None

Pros

Decent pay and good benefits.

Cons

It used to be a nice place to work years ago but I'm afraid that's changed and it's now become a political cesspool. There are managers to manage the managers and assistants to assist the assistants. It's just ridiculous. No promotions. No raises in pay. Snobby people to work with. Just go look for a job elsewhere and don't watse your time. Administration is incompetent and wasteful. Staff is not treated well. Layoffs abound.

Advice to Senior Management

Read your own mission statement and try to remember what your organization is supposed to stand for.