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Smithsonian Reviews
Updated Jan 25, 2023
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Found 393 of over 633 reviews
66% Recommend to a Friend
78% Approve of CEO
Found 394 of over 633 reviews
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Recommend to a Friend
Approve of CEO
Dr. David J. Skorton
96 Ratings
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Ask a QuestionTop Review Highlights by Sentiment
Pros
- "good benefits, for trust employees 12% of your salary in your 401k without any match requirement." (in 27 reviews)
Cons
- "Unpaid internship where I was doing some of the same work that paid employees were doing." (in 10 reviews)
Pros & Cons are excerpts from user reviews. They are not authored by Glassdoor.
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of Smithsonian and is not affected by filters.
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- Current Employee★★★★★
Pros
Government employment is very flexible and beneficial
Cons
Keep the same policies amongst the buildings
- Former Employee, more than 3 years★★★★★
Pros
- Location - Content is interesting - Good insurance options - Decent retirement benefits if you stay long enough to get them
Cons
- Daily publishing quotas (3/day) - Monthly writing and reporting quotas (2-4 features) - VERY LOW rates for freelancers - Low salary for DC metropolitan area - Underpaid, overworked - Low to no paths to promotion - Raises issued in 5-10 year intervals—if that (Team is small but expected to do the work of a team 3x their size) - Expectations are outside of staff capacity and compensation - Very little meaningful mentorship opportunities in media with current staff issues - Daily morning meetings and 2-3 additional check in or team meetings weekly - Senior to CEO leadership out-of-touch with media landscape - Senior leadership is not open to competitive salary negotiation - Near constant staff turnover - Extremely slow hiring process - Very tangled bureaucratic culture overall
- Current Employee★★★★★
Experience working at the Smithsonian.
Jan 10, 2023 - Lead Visitor Service RepresentativeRecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
Able to meet a lot of people, and was able to learn a lot about history
Cons
Was made a lot of empty promises of growth but never grew.
Continue reading - Current Employee★★★★★
Pros
It’s decent. A good way to get your foot in the door on the federal side
Cons
Its not worth the pay whatsoever
- Current Employee, more than 3 years★★★★★
Pros
The Secretary is incredibly inspirational and such a great person -- and helping to move the organization to be much more forward thinking Fantastic benefits Amazing community of colleagues Impactful and meaningful work
Cons
Quasi-governmental bureaucracy can be challenging Sometimes slow progress for aforementioned bureaucracy
- Former Employee★★★★★
Pros
Email Arkeemjones@ outlook.com for interview questions for USRO position.
Cons
Diverse work environment and colleagues of same origin tend to gang up against others. Stay to yourself!
Continue reading - Current Employee★★★★★
Pros
Great great great great great
Cons
No cons nothing bad to say
- Current Employee★★★★★
Pros
Leadership Development Promotions Overtime Paid Sick and Annual Leave Health Benefits - Dental, Vision, Heath Care Transit Benefits
Cons
Grueling Work Schedule 6 days work 2 days off rotation. Can be held over to work double shifts if there are personnel shortages Only 8 weekends a year on a 6 and 2 schedule. Greatly Understaffed
- Current Employee, more than 5 years★★★★★
Pros
The mission and vision of the Smithsonian and its sub-organizations are great. Enjoy being a part of such an interesting organization. Being a federal worker is nice. Pays well for museum field.
Cons
Constantly understaffed. Poor leadership decisions. They promote and hire based on academic credentials rather than management skills. Entrenched hierarchy without any appreciation or agency given to non-curatorial staff. Toxic work culture -people are so committed to the mission and their egos that they work constantly and brag about it... it's about to be 2023, get a life.
- Current Employee★★★★★
Lots of opportunity, challenging bureaucracy
Dec 6, 2022 - Major Gifts Officer in Washington, DCRecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
Opportunity for impact and great programs
Cons
Challenging bureaucracy to overcome including disengaged employees
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Smithsonian Reviews FAQs
Smithsonian has an overall rating of 3.9 out of 5, based on over 633 reviews left anonymously by employees. 66% of employees would recommend working at Smithsonian to a friend and 53% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has decreased by -5% over the last 12 months.
66% of Smithsonian employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated Smithsonian 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.7 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.
According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at Smithsonian to be benefits, career development, coworkers and the cons to be senior leadership, culture, management.
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