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    Northwestern University Reviews

    Updated July 19, 2018
    1,327 reviews

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    Full-timePart-time
    4.3
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro
    Morton Schapiro
    468 Ratings

    1,327 Employee Reviews

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    Pros
    Cons
    More Pros and Cons

    1. "A great place for growing and conducting research"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I have been working at Northwestern University part-time

      Pros

      Great location and beautiful campus.

      Cons

      I wish Northwestern could have more lab positions open for entry level employee.

    2. "Materials Science and Engineering department"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Postdoctoral Fellow in Evanston, IL
      Current Employee - Postdoctoral Fellow in Evanston, IL
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Northwestern University full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Good work and life balance, high-quality experiment support, Good location, high-ranking department, reasonable rent payment

      Cons

      Small engineering department, low income, cold weather in winter, small downtown, few baby care facility, high daycare cost

      3. Join the Northwestern University team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. "Great place"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Northwestern University full-time

      Pros

      Great environment. Opportunities to get courses

      Cons

      It is not possible to get a promotion

    4. "Administrative Assistant"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Administrative Assistant in Evanston, IL
      Current Employee - Administrative Assistant in Evanston, IL
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Northwestern University full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Beautiful campus, great benefits, work life balance is good

      Cons

      Low pay, low salary increases, little to no training, no transparency between employees and higher ups.

      Advice to Management

      Invest more in training and keeping your talent.

    5. "Graduate student at Northwestern University"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I have been working at Northwestern University full-time

      Pros

      Collaborative, young faculty, intelligent people

      Cons

      Expensive, Evanston not well suited to college life

    6. "Teaching Assistant"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Teaching Assistant in Evanston, IL
      Former Employee - Teaching Assistant in Evanston, IL
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Northwestern University full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Good for graduate students. Flexible hours.

      Cons

      Abusive environment. No good way to report problems between employees and management without some form of de facto retaliation.

      Advice to Management

      Reform processes of dispute resolution.

    7. "Great Place to Work Overall"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Northwestern University full-time

      Pros

      Northwestern has a lot of resources to help graduate students succeed

      Cons

      Support may vary by department or advisor

    8. "Not great, not awful"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Research Project Coordinator in Chicago, IL
      Current Employee - Research Project Coordinator in Chicago, IL
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at Northwestern University full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Fantastic benefits, potential for growth if you're on the right track, good name to have on a resume

      Cons

      Pay is not ideal - merit increases are inconsequential, very bureaucratic, underutilize staff and their education levels, frequently will work to the bottom of your degree - not the top,

      Advice to Management

      Don't take advantage of your staff by treating them less than and paying them as little as possible. You get out what you invest into your workers.

    9. "Data Analyst for Medical Research"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Senior Data Analyst in Chicago, IL
      Former Employee - Senior Data Analyst in Chicago, IL
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Northwestern University full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Pleasant and relaxed work environment.
      Possible to work with smart people on interesting projects.
      Good non-salary benefits.

      Cons

      Salary is not competitive with similar positions in the "real world" (i.e. non-academic world)
      Academic environment is surprisingly conservative with regards recent innovations in cloud computing.
      Very stratified in terms of overall organization with too many administrators- a common problem with most universities.

    10. "Clinical Trials office review. Beware!!!"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Chicago, IL
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Chicago, IL
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I have been working at Northwestern University full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Retirement match and non-match =10% of Salary
      Paid time off = 46 days: 10 Hol, 15 sick, 15 vacay, 3 Floating, 3 winter break.

      Cons

      Poor Management with zero leadership skills.
      Micromanaging.
      Less than 2.5% annual raise average for department- Lurie Cancer Center Clinical Trials Office.
      High turnover, >40%
      No room for growth or advancement.
      Management promotes "spitball method" as their process improvement strategy!
      Low Salary compared to national average.

      Advice to Management

      Raise salaries to national average
      Hire outside leaders with actual Management experience.
      Standardize processes.
      Give raises that reflect workload, effort. 5% min
      Implement employee retention program.
      Standardize training.

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