Columbia University Reviews

Pros

Working in an environment of higher education allows you to learn about topics that interest you with a large library system at your fingertips. The employees are diverse and with the campus' expansion, there are opportunities for career advancement. Since the onset of the pandemic, employees have been afforded the flexibility to continue telecommuting or do so on a hybrid basis. Tuition exemption is a great benefit if you're looking to finish up study towards a BA or start a Master's program of study. The University's location in Morningside Heights is also easily accessible by the 1 train to 116th or the A, B, C, D, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 trains to 125th street (the latter option requires a short ride on the M60 crosstown bus which stops right at the campus' doorstep)

Cons

Salaries are not as competitive as they could be and there are no bonuses for most staff members. Benefits are competitive with dental, medical, retirement and tuition benefits but the cost of living in NYC increases every year with inflation and, sadly, salaries are not increasing enough to meet the demand.

Pros

- Top notch research - Generally happy work environment at Zuckerman Institute - Good balance of experimental/theoretical PIs who collaborate well - Excellent professional support e.g. grant writing, networking with famous professors - Generally friendly administration - Easy to walk or take public transit to work

Cons

- Postdoc housing is a scam, don't count on it - Even if you get postdoc housing, they give you very short notice to find a place and then kick you out after 3 years - Pay is much too low for NYC cost of living, expect a low quality of life and do not plan to have kids as a postdoc unless your family is rich - Crappy benefits e.g. expensive health insurance that doesn't cover anything, no retirement benefits, limited support for finding and affording childcare, useless support for finding housing - Significant hidden costs, e.g. NYC city tax costs ~$2000/year just to live here, food is very overpriced in NYC - Postdocs are unionized, but the union is not very effective, e.g. raises are 2.5%/year which is less than inflation - This poor compensation feels very exploitative for such a wealthy university e.g. President Bollinger makes $4.6 million/year and Columbia is the 2nd largest land owner in Manhattan

Pros

The benefits are great. Dependent care allowance provided by the employer. Various health insurance options. Except dental. They went from PPO to HMO and now it limits your choices.

Cons

The communication from Departments like Cufo Human Resources, and IT are horrible. No effective communication or decision making. The salary is so low especially if you have been here for a while. They don’t increase your salary. During 2020 there was a hiring freeze and no salary increases but in 2021 they provided little to no increased even with great performance evaluations. Overpay vendors but pay to long standing employees is terrible

Pros

Stable, secure employment, great benefits and vacation, discounted tuition for first 2 years and then free tuition after 2 years. Many folks who work there have been there for many, many years. Beautiful campus, caring coworkers.

Cons

Extremely slow to to follow through on raises and promotions (every dept must go through main CU HR to complete), not very competitive pay, dinosaur when it comes to understanding media landscape, and a history of being The Man basically. Every school or center has its own operations but then is expected to adhere to/communicate with central CU, and it gets very murky. Not uncommon for capable people to take on extra work not in their job descriptions, which does not get acknowledged, and hiring is exceptionally slow.