Great university with issues typical for a university - Engagement Director UCLA Employee Review

4.0
Aug 18, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Many of the faculty and leadership are genuinely invested in the public mission through impactful science and addressing issues of equity on and off campus. -the benefits scheme is good -beautiful campus -never boring, especially if part of your job is understanding the portfolio of research underway

Cons

*take this with a grain of salt. UCLA is very big and it very much matters who your team and manager are, but per my experience: -Overly hierarchical, deferential to authority. Sometimes this results in people 'playing politics' by 'brownnosing', etc. I've had a manager take credit for my work with their manager. -Steeped in tradition, disinterested in trying new things -Prioritizing faculty interests over students' interests

Explore other reviews about UCLA

5.0
Jun 5, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good benefit, good pay, good location

Cons

bad work life balance, no promotion

2.0
May 5, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Decent benefits, but not really as great as everyone assumes. Some colleagues who really care and do great work. Impressive students.

Cons

Relatively poor pay and pay inequities. Extremely poor fiscal management - that CFO who was fired for outing it was spot on. Senior administrators and faculty are incentivized to spend a lot of money on things that serve few students and hoard resources to make themselves look good for performance reviews and tenure committees, but it means a lot of extra work gets dumped on a growing a number of mid-level administrators and support staff - who now face layoffs or added workloads. It's all strangling the university's ability to serve its students, but I know several faculty members simply don't care about students or teaching.

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