Does Salk Institute pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Salk Institute employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.8 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Salk Institute. This rating has improved by 4% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Salk Institute?

72% of Salk Institute employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Salk Institute 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.7 for culture and values and 3.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Salk Institute?

Postdoctoral Fellow (36) , Research Assistant (30) , Postdoctoral Research Associate (16) , Research Associate (14) , Lab Technician (7) , Research Assistant I (7) , Senior Research Associate (7) , Research Assistant II (5) , Research Assistant III (5) , Director (4) , Intern (4) , Graduate Student (3) , Lab Assistant (3) , Researcher (3) , Scientist (3)

What are the pros of working at Salk Institute according to real employee reviews?

"Great people that work at the institute with world class scientist in a beautiful location" ((in 26 reviews)); "Salk offers great benefits for their employees and they really try to emphasize living a healthy, balanced life with a healthy workplace environment." ((in 15 reviews)); "notch science research, iconic design location, great colleagues, collegial atmosphere for collaboration." ((in 9 reviews)); "Beautiful Campus and Great Scientists from around the world." ((in 7 reviews)); "Your coworkers are usually amazing people." ((in 5 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Salk Institute according to real employee reviews?

"Low pay and overtime for postdoc" ((in 34 reviews)); "Salary is low." ((in 26 reviews)); "No retirement matching for postdocs" ((in 3 reviews)); "Hours are expected to be long with vacation time a rare luxury" ((in 3 reviews))

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Salk Institute

Salk Institute Reviews

3.9

72% would recommend to a friend

(282 total reviews)

Jerry Joyce

64% approve of CEO

62% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (282 reviews)

Salk Institute has an employee rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars, based on 282 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Salk Institute employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

282 reviews

5.0

19 May 2026

Great research environment

Senior staff scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

World-class research Great environment Friendly staff

Cons

Lack of growth potential for young researchers Lack of mentoring support Not enough interactions with staff

5.0

18 May 2026

Good workplace but poor pay and management

Lab tech

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

great work place good pepole

Cons

not enough pay annd horrible mamnagement

4.0

28 Apr 2026

Great location and meaningful work, but high turnover

Executive coordinator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Great location, beautiful campus, meaningful work, great colleagues.

Cons

Not enough upward movement. Newer leadership have made unpopular decisions that caused massive turnover.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 282 Reviews

Jobs at Salk Institute

HR Administrator - Office of People & Culture

Web Developer (Communications)

Research Assistant II - Laboratory of Dr. Julie Law

Grants & Sponsored Projects Administrator II