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Columbia University

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The Columbia Work Culture Will Kill You [Columbia Engineering] - Director Columbia University Employee Review

2.0
20 Dec 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

This review is for Engineering though the themes seen to be institutional. Highly intelligent, self-motivated, capable, and confident colleagues. Across teams, I've encountered so many folks who would be rockstar employees elsewhere but because of low pay, unrealistic work expectations, and short staffing, so many of us are just hanging on by a thread to do great work. If you can find a great team elsewhere, it's great to consider but it's very hard to find a team without these same issues.

Cons

The bar is impossible to meet and senior leadership fundamentally doesn't understand what the role of administrators is. Mountains are made out of mustard seeds, key crucial decisions take weeks to make, and check-ins are seen as a procedural necessity without much substance or action. There is constant talk of ideas but no actionable movement only for senior leadership to follow up weeks or months later and deem these same ideas as urgent and top priority. Everything is always important and it's also urgent and must be done NOW! Pay is abysmally low. Asking for a raise will almost always result in months of stalling and gaslighting. There are several folks who have taken 'medical leaves of absence' only to resign when they're due to return. Mentally, I am never off from my work. I am always thinking about work, tapped into my work. Whether it's 6 AM or 10 PM, you should be available. The phrase 'I don't have the bandwidth' is not respected and seen as you being a personal failure. There is no such thing as work life balance. You simply work and try to find ways to have a life in the 3 hours of free time you have. You are rewarded with food. No pay, no breaks, just the occasional lunch. I once had a coworker tell me I use bathroom breaks as a reward only after I've finished a few tasks. Unfortunately many colleagues outside of SEAS also feel very similarly.

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5.0
29 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great place to learn from people

Cons

pay is relatively pretty low

1.0
12 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people in the trenches The students The passionate faculty

Cons

Leadership, their inefficiencies and poor decisions Very dysfunctional environment HR does whatever leadership tells them to do, including covering issues by "friends of the boss", This favoritism approach also includes approvals for who gets to work from out of state even when the position can be easily filled by local workers and the creation of new jobs for those that are chosen. Very poor financial decisions. Big big pay on top, Low pay on bottom. Very little room for growth unless someone likes you and you are the right color.

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