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University of Washington Reviews

4.2

80% would recommend to a friend

(5354 total reviews)

Ana Mari Cauce

78% approve of CEO

Ratings by category

4.2

Diversity and Inclusion

4.1

Culture and Values

4.0

Work/Life Balance

3.7

Career Opportunities

3.7

Senior Management

3.6

Compensation and Benefits

Ratings distribution

5 stars

41%

4 stars

37%

3 stars

16%

2 stars

4%

1 star

2%

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Found 5,354 of over 6K reviews

Updated 28 Nov 2023

Top Review Highlights by Sentiment

Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor

Pros
  • "Great benefits and usually always a green light to do the best and be the best.(in 535 reviews)
  • "Great people work there and the University education mission is important.(in 272 reviews)
  • "The campus is beautiful and busing into work is a cinch from most any part of the city.(in 159 reviews)
  • "Hours are flexible and you are still in a college atmosphere (pro or con).(in 158 reviews)
  • "Not too time consuming and good work/life balance(in 116 reviews)
Cons
  • "Low pay and you get to work with (some individuals) who practically can't be fired (union).(in 325 reviews)
  • "salary for research scientists/engineers is low compared to industry but this is standard across all universities(in 205 reviews)
  • "year due to the stress of the job and poor management(in 92 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 68 reviews)
  • "Managers always say we need to 'run like a business' but most of the managers have zero experience in the private sector(in 36 reviews)
    1. 5.0
      25 Sept 2021
      Research Assistant
      Former Employee
      Hong Kong
      Recommend
      CEO Approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      living wage, good health care

      Cons

      short contracts and not much COVID support

      1. 3.0
        22 Jun 2022
        Librarian
        Former Employee
        Recommend
        CEO Approval
        Business Outlook

        Pros

        people are nice and friendly

        Cons

        sometimes it was too quiet

      2. Join the University of Washington team
        See Our Latest Jobs
        1. 4.0
          2 Sept 2021
          Anonymous Employee
          Former Employee, less than 1 year
          Recommend
          CEO Approval
          Business Outlook

          Pros

          nice colleagues and working environment

          Cons

          Payroll is not high enough

          1. 4.0
            29 Mar 2021
            AT Specialist II
            Former Employee, more than 1 year
            Recommend
            CEO Approval
            Business Outlook

            Pros

            Employer was very flexible with hours.

            Cons

            You would have to work in bad weathers.

            1. 5.0
              21 Apr 2020
              Anonymous Employee
              Former Employee
              Recommend
              CEO Approval
              Business Outlook

              Pros

              Good environment, friendly faulty and culture

              Cons

              Limited benefits from the campus

              1. 5.0
                27 Nov 2023
                Associate Director
                Former Employee, more than 1 year
                Seattle, WA
                Recommend
                CEO Approval
                Business Outlook

                Pros

                Great healthcare Finding genuine colleagues who love their jobs Passionate, collegial work culture Wonderful resources for professional development and community building Solid pathways for continued learning/secondary education

                Cons

                Commute very challenging and parking pricey at main campus Safety on main campus and U district highly questionable after working hours; remain vigilant of surroundings in U district at any hour Lacking diversity in senior cabinet and academic leadership; better representation on campus for administrators/ entry and some mid-level staff but not most mid-level staff staff and not across lead faculty

                1. 1.0
                  31 Oct 2023
                  Business Analyst
                  Former Employee, more than 3 years
                  Recommend
                  CEO Approval
                  Business Outlook

                  Pros

                  Pay Benefits Schedule Not much else

                  Cons

                  UW-IT is a very toxic place to work at if you haven't been there for years and aren't in bed with the managers. The amount of misogyny, racism, disrespect I noticed while at UW was shocking. I would have left earlier if I had a choice but unfortunately getting a new job is not easy in the current climate. The whole of IT is embarrassing for a progressive state like WA and even more for a state institution. Right off the bat you're pretty much expected to know everything about how UW works and their systems. Asking a senior member of the team just gets you a lot of attitude and disrespect even when the question is asked on a public channel where others are able to see the responses. Going to HR is no use either since the people who are toxic have been around for a long time and have been toxic for years now. The next time there's an article in Seattle Times about UW, it'll probably be about this.

                  1. 2.0
                    15 Nov 2023
                    Administrative Assistant
                    Former Employee, less than 1 year
                    Bothell, WA
                    Recommend
                    CEO Approval
                    Business Outlook

                    Pros

                    Teams are super helpful It's great how they have a union for classified staff Multiple learning opportunities Find great people

                    Cons

                    Double standards from specific supervisors Racism is very prevalent HR reps and leads are in cliques and give outdated or unresponsive Union Reps Ombudsman are non-responsive Not a lot of growth opportunities Communication learning is subpar and selective There's a lot to improve on , but what company doesn't have these issues?

                    1. 4.0
                      15 Nov 2023
                      Graduate Research Assistant
                      Former Employee, more than 5 years
                      Seattle, WA
                      Recommend
                      CEO Approval
                      Business Outlook

                      Pros

                      - A supportive and curious culture among fellow trainees and in faculty within my department - Fantastic research being done with a great chance for grad students to explore their interests - Faculty were generally helpful and good people at core, with little inter-trainee competition being fostered in my experience

                      Cons

                      - Central UW administrators outside of my department behaved like absolute clowns at multiple points over the course of my PhD - Getting professors to focus on anything can be like herding cats

                      1. 3.0
                        28 Nov 2023
                        PhD Student
                        Current Employee
                        Seattle, WA
                        Recommend
                        CEO Approval
                        Business Outlook

                        Pros

                        Collaborative environment and state of the art equipment

                        Cons

                        Poor salary, admin is clueless

                      Viewing 1 - 10 of 5,354 Reviews
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                      University of Washington Reviews FAQs

                      University of Washington has an overall rating of 4.2 out of 5, based on over 5,828 reviews left anonymously by employees. 80% of employees would recommend working at University of Washington to a friend and 61% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

                      According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, University of Washington employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at University of Washington. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

                      80% 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 3.7 for career opportunities.

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