Lawrence Berkeley Lab Reviews
70% would recommend to a friend
(906 total reviews)
Michael Witherell
80% approve of CEO
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Found 906 of over 1K reviews
Updated Dec 4, 2023
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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
- "Postdoc researchers with family might find the salary is low to live in the Bay Area." (in 68 reviews)
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of Lawrence Berkeley Lab and is not affected by filters.
- 5.0Aug 25, 2023Summer InternFormer EmployeeCambridge, MA
Pros
- World-class facilities and equipment - Strong peers and collaborators - Many fields to choose from - Great location and weather
Cons
- Slower pace than university research labs - Many working space are located in the basement / without access to sunlight
- 2.0Nov 21, 2023Postdoctoral ResearcherCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearBerkeley, CA
Pros
There is typically good funding for equipment. If you are in the right department, you can earn good money as a postdoc or project scientist.
Cons
You can also earn quite poorly if you happen to be in a less well funded institute. There is a lot of red tape in getting anything done and way to many meetings. They don't hire for staff engineer positions until 2 years after the previous engineer retired and then use postdocs as an underpaid stop-gap.
- 3.0Dec 4, 2023ManagerCurrent Employee, more than 3 yearsBerkeley, CA
Pros
Excellent scientific research and good sense of accomplishment.
Cons
Low salaries bring government entity. Bay Area is EXPENSIVE!!
- 4.0Nov 15, 2023Postdoctoral ScholarFormer Employee, more than 3 years
Pros
Excellent research. Many interesting projects (if you can get in). Many great people to work with and a great place to expand your network.
Cons
Limited funding opportunities. And please keep looking for jobs even you just landed this postdoc position in such a dream place. If you get comfy and want to stay, you'll soon find how hard that is....
- 5.0Nov 29, 2023Administrative AssistantFormer Employee, more than 1 yearBerkeley, CA
Pros
The coworkers are nice and friendly, and the environment is great
Cons
Rarely sponsor H1b or green cards.
- 4.0Nov 21, 2023Software EngineerFormer Employee, less than 1 yearBerkeley, CA
Pros
Nice people, nice place, interesting work.
Cons
Too living expense. Hard to buy a house.
- 5.0Nov 19, 2023LawyerFormer Employee, less than 1 yearDallas, TX
Pros
culture is great especially with friends
Cons
the promotions to full time
- 4.0Oct 29, 2023Research ScientistFormer Employee, more than 5 yearsBerkeley, CA
Pros
Multiple opportunities to learn, very multidisciplinary. Work-life balance with paid sick leave and vacation time off.
Cons
Opportunities beyond training are extremely limited. Hiring and maintaining people is extremely expensive due to overhead and the amount of funds is very limited (for example, a Research Scientist needs 2 proposals approved per year without hiring RA/Postdocs to survive).
- 4.0Nov 12, 2023Senior Research AssociateFormer Employee, more than 1 yearBerkeley, CA
Pros
There are plenty of opportunities to learn. Benefits are great. The people are friendly.
Cons
Pay is not competitive. Little room for promotion.
- 1.0Oct 7, 2023Postdoctoral FellowFormer Employee, more than 1 yearEmeryville, CA
Pros
Name brand recognition on your resume/CV.
Cons
You're mileage will vary but my experience was characterized by a woefully inadequate salary, mediocre intellectual environment, lack of any path for career advancement within the Lab, and an ossified bureaucracy that stifled agency and initiative at many levels of the org chart. Leadership seemed completely out of touch with the challenges faced by graduate students and postdocs, and unwilling or unable to imagine a future for the Lab beyond an outdated and broken model for doing science that I fear may become increasingly irrelevant in today's rapidly changing political, scientific, economic, and social landscapes.
Lawrence Berkeley Lab Reviews FAQs
Lawrence Berkeley Lab has an overall rating of 3.9 out of 5, based on over 1,101 reviews left anonymously by employees. 70% of employees would recommend working at Lawrence Berkeley Lab to a friend and 58% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has decreased by -5% over the last 12 months.
70% of Lawrence Berkeley Lab employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Lawrence Berkeley Lab 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 3.5 for career opportunities.
According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at Lawrence Berkeley Lab to be culture, career development, benefits and the cons to be management, compensation.
