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    University of Washington Reviews

    Updated May 24, 2017
    1,554 reviews

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    Full-time Part-time
    4.0
    Star Star Star Star Star
    Rating Trends Rating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    (no image)
    Ana Mari Cauce
    150 Ratings

    1,554 Employee Reviews

    Sort: Popular Rating Date
    Pros

    • The University of Washington has an excellent culture and work life balance (in 98 reviews)

    • It was a great work environment, my supervisor was very nice so it was easy for me to ask for help if needed (in 104 reviews)

    Cons

    • Depending on your department, work-life balance can be difficult to maintain (in 15 reviews)

    • There seems to be an organizational lack of motivation towards high performance as compared to private sector organizations (in 26 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. "TA"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Seattle, WA
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Seattle, WA
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at University of Washington (Less than a year)

      Pros

      TAing is a good experience and has good benefits.

      Cons

      Grading can get tedious, especially with big classes.

    2. "postdoc"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Postdoctoral Research Associate in Seattle, WA
      Current Employee - Postdoctoral Research Associate in Seattle, WA

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

      Pros

      flexibility and academic freedom to pursue your own ideas

      Cons

      salary and career advancement limited

    3. "Research Scientist"

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

      I have been working at University of Washington full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      Good faculty, few noble laurates

      Cons

      Some faculty crooked, misuse of funds

      Advice to Management

      Listen to staff for evaluation of research faculty.

      4. Is this helpful? The community relies on everyone sharing – Add Anonymous Review

    4. "9 year employee"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Research Scientist in Seattle, WA
      Current Employee - Research Scientist in Seattle, WA
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at University of Washington full-time (More than 8 years)

      Pros

      Great health insurance
      Opportunities for professional development through POD classes

      Cons

      Difficult commute for employees with disabilities

    5. "current employee"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Grant Specialist in Seattle, WA
      Current Employee - Grant Specialist in Seattle, WA

      I have been working at University of Washington full-time (More than 8 years)

      Pros

      Benefits, variety, and job security.

      Cons

      It's an institution....a big one.

    6. "Research Scientist III"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Lab Manager, Research Scientist III in Seattle, WA
      Current Employee - Lab Manager, Research Scientist III in Seattle, WA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at University of Washington full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      Good flexibility, great people in most cases, good money. Great to work in an academic environment.

      Cons

      As a research scientist you're usually working on soft grant money. Puts you in a position to be looking for a new job every 5-8 years in my experience.

      Advice to Management

      Haven't really had any bad experiences at University of Washington with management in any position I've had there. In general, I think PIs do a great job.

    7. "postdoctoral fellow"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Postdoctoral Fellow in Seattle, WA
      Current Employee - Postdoctoral Fellow in Seattle, WA
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook

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

      Pros

      a great place for research

      Cons

      very difficult to live and do research with the pay scale

      Advice to Management

      pay postdocs more

    8. Helpful (1)

      "Project Manager in HCDE - Directed Research Group"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Project Manager in Seattle, WA
      Former Employee - Project Manager in Seattle, WA
      Recommends
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at University of Washington part-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Teamwork, nice people, love the hard work environment

      Cons

      A lot of in depth data, some of them might be involving with real life situations which made it a little difficult to comprehend.

    9. Helpful (1)

      "Postdoc in Pathology"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Postdoctoral Fellow in Seattle, WA
      Current Employee - Postdoctoral Fellow in Seattle, WA
      Recommends
      Negative Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at University of Washington full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      Excellent and supportive community. Many opportunities to grow in your career and experience outside of your lab.

      Cons

      As you probably know, the salary is not great, but is comparable to other public institutions.

      Advice to Management

      There is plenty of existing lab space on campus. Money would be better invested to support investigators struggling to keep current labs occupied in the form of bridge funds. When so much of the University's income is siphoned from research grants, perhaps it would make more sense to focus on keeping current space occupied by supporting existing faculty while they apply for additional funding than to invest in more empty space.

    10. "A community of people passionate about teaching"

      Star Star Star Star Star
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - CSE 142 TA in Seattle, WA
      Former Employee - CSE 142 TA in Seattle, WA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook

      I worked at University of Washington part-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      - Numerous resources to help staff with teaching/grading
      - Weekly community meetings and quarterly events to build strong bond within community
      - Experience with hands on teaching. Responsible for teaching 1-2 sections per week.
      - Strong cause: "help students succeed"

      Cons

      - Grading can take a significant amount of time
      - As a full time student, juggling course work and this job can be taxing

      Advice to Management

      The quality of the program stems from the quality of the people. Continue to seek out those who want the job for the right reasons.

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