University of Washington Reviews
Updated Jun 2, 2023
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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
- "The campus is beautiful and busing into work is a cinch from most any part of the city." (in 157 reviews)
- "Low pay and you get to work with (some individuals) who practically can't be fired (union)." (in 300 reviews)
- "Funding for teaching assistants and benefits is at risk as management seeks to cut costs; grad student experience varies based on department/program; parking is expensive" (in 66 reviews)
- "Managers always say we need to 'run like a business' but most of the managers have zero experience in the private sector" (in 35 reviews)
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of University of Washington and is not affected by filters.
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- Current Employee, more than 3 years★★★★★
Great work life balance
Jun 2, 2023 - Business Analyst in Seattle, WARecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
Work life balance and great benefits
Cons
Lower pay than industry average
- Former Employee, more than 1 year★★★★★
Good job for students, flexible and well paid
Mar 14, 2023 - Student Brand Manager - SBM in Seattle, WARecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
-Good job for students (looks very good on resume and you learn a lot of relevant skills) -Good pay (esp if you stay longer as you get a raise every year if I recall) -Management actually cares about you and your well-being (at least when I was there, I believe there has been a switch in management) -You can develop many skills and if you proactively learn, it can lead to a lot of opportunities -Very understanding of student schedules -There is a good training process in place. For me it was a bit of a learning curve as I was an out-of-department hire, but if you had worked as an EVS or Info desk employee, the role of SBM would be a more natural progression. In the end, I would highly recommend this job to a student who is proactively seeking growth opportunities and excels at multitasking, handling a lot of responsibilities, and managing priorities.
Cons
-SAFETY :( When I had worked there, it was only 1 SBM who closed at night (12:00 AM). This was super dangerous and no student is qualified to essentially be "Security" and lock down the entire building alone. I had been chased and harassed by many less-than-friendly guests who were trying to stay overnight in the building. I think things have changed now, but that was definitely a safety risk. -You have a lot of responsibility, more than an average student job. This isn't an easy job, and you will feel drained after a shift (if there are a lot of events and issues that night).
Continue reading - Current Employee★★★★★
Pros
I’ve been here for 3.5 years now and I have to say this is an excellent job. Leaders are invested in DEI and coworkers are as well. Everyone is mission driven so no one is here for the salary. We are all working together to create a positive impact. There is ample opportunity to get involved in sub committees where you get to make high level decisions. There’s also space to move up from your current role, but HR can really delay that. Good benefits.
Cons
Pay is not so great and it takes a while to get hired on. It’s also very traditional in the sense where leaders want to see us sitting at our desks vs working from home, even though some of us can be more productive from home. There are also some people who are just plain rude who have worked here for years and leadership does nothing to alleviate conflicts.
Continue reading - Current Employee, less than 1 year★★★★★
Great graduate school with excellent resources.
May 30, 2023 - Graduate StudentRecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
The resources available to students in STEM at the UW are exceptional.
Cons
There are a few too many courses shared between graduate and undergraduate students making the course material for some of 5pm classes a bit too basic for the graduate level.
Continue reading - Current Employee★★★★★
My Journey as a postdoctoral fellow at University of Washington
Jun 2, 2023 - Postdoctoral FellowRecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
Excellent academic environment and high-quality research
Cons
Minimum wage for postdocs and research scientists is very low compared to other universities and industries.
- Current Employee, more than 1 year★★★★★
RT technician
May 24, 2023 - Respiratory Technician in Seattle, WARecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
Good management (listen to you, helpful for info, etc.) Flexible schedule and very flexible hours within a day (you will provide your school schedule, and they will schedule you around it) Good and helpful coworkers Good job to have if you want to be an RT after graduation at UW Montlake
Cons
If you want more than 10h per week, maybe you will need another part-time job (I suggest Amazon flex time)
Continue reading - Current Employee, more than 1 year★★★★★
Couldn't Ask for a Better Boss
May 30, 2023 - Research Assistant in Seattle, WARecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
Flexible schedule, work remote, given complete autonomy, feel valued.
Cons
None so to speak. All is well.
Continue reading - Former Employee★★★★★
Pros
easy student work good for part time learned a lot of skills
Cons
The desk can be busy and stressful at times
- Former Employee★★★★★
Good place to work while a student
May 30, 2023 - Fitness Instructor in Seattle, WARecommendCEO ApprovalBusiness OutlookPros
Free IMA memberships, meet new people
Cons
Have to be able to juggle multiple things, and hours can be few
- Current Employee★★★★★
Pros
solid retirement benefits, opportunity for intellectual contribution, good health insurance, state employer for parental leave benefits
Cons
below market pay scale, disorganized bureaucracy, opaque route for promotion and advancement, lack of administrative support, poorly defined roles
Continue reading
University of Washington Reviews FAQs
University of Washington has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on over 5,474 reviews left anonymously by employees. 82% of employees would recommend working at University of Washington to a friend and 65% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.
82% of University of Washington employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews. Employees also rated University of Washington 4.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.1 for culture and values and 3.8 for career opportunities.
According to reviews on Glassdoor, employees commonly mention the pros of working at University of Washington to be career development, coworkers, benefits and the cons to be culture, management, compensation.
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