University of Pennsylvania Reviews

Pros

Good benefits, especially health insurance and tution Good experience, especially if you are a recent college grad Easy commute if you live in the West Philly area. Also a lot of public transport options if you don't have a car. Relaxed research environment and lots of flexibility.

Cons

You really only take advantage of the full benefits when you are older, married, have kids or are ready to buy a house. Not a lot of benefits catered to young recent college grads. The pay isn't great. Wouldn't really mind it if the benefits made up for the low pay. If you are interested in research and drug development, I advice to get as much experience and take advantage of the education benefits. Then you should apply for a job in Pharma that pays better and has similar benefits. If you are a research specialist, I would advice against staying at the same lab or role for more than a couple years. After a while, there is no more room for upward mobility. You could be earning much more in industry. Sometimes the bureaucracy and red tape is very disorganized and unstructured and could be very frustrating to maneuver. It is very political and you kind of have to "play the game" if you want to advance your career and move up.