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Rockefeller University

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Great environment but lacks administrative power over faculty - Anonymous employee Rockefeller University Employee Review

4.0
Jun 18, 2021
Anonymous employee
Recommend
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Pros

Incredible benefits, beautiful campus, highly intelligent people, stimulating.

Cons

Faculty dictates how the university is run--very little to no power/authority given to administration to oversee the faculty. Mentorship and education needs to be reassessed in order to call it "university." Course work is a joke, and there's hardly any interactions among graduate students facilitated by the university. (perhaps student seminar series?) Grad students get no teaching experience as there's no undergrad program on campus. It appears there's no system/program to support such an important element of an educational institution. This seems to be true for faculty-- apparently promotion for faculty doesn't count mentorship into consideration. "Science for the Benefit of Humanity "-- I wish the university as a whole revisits this.

Explore other reviews about Rockefeller University

5.0
May 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Competitive Salary: Pay rates ($24–$25/hr) are above the NYC average for environmental services.Excellent Benefits: Comprehensive health insurance, generous paid time off, and strong retirement matching.Prestigious Institution: Clean, safe, and highly respected Ivy-league level research campus environment.Job Stability: Stable full-time hours with reliable bi-weekly pay schedules and low turnover.Community Respect: Friendly interactions with world-class scientists, researchers, and students.

Cons

igh Cost of Living: Manhattan location means commuting is long and expensive if you cannot afford NYC rent.Physically Demanding: Requires standing, lifting, and repetitive manual labor for the entire 8-hour shift.Strict Lab Standards: Cleaning bio-research labs requires strict adherence to safety protocols and extra caution.Limited Career Growth: Few opportunities to move up into higher-paying administrative roles from cleaning.Weekend/Shift Work: Some roles require early morning, late night, or weekend rotations.

5.0
Nov 29, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Top notch science and people. Labs are well funded. Best salary and benefits you'll ever find as a PhD student (salary/housing, fitness classes, etc). Nice campus, a little oasis in NYC. Lots of independence. A small and friendly community. Culture of work-life balance in many labs.

Cons

Some perks have been cut recently. Lack of name recognition outside biology compared to comparable research institutions like Harvard, Columbia (biologists all know RU is on the same level, but non-biologists don't). We only do biology so there's not as much access to compsci, math, etc.

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