Does NIH pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, NIH employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at NIH. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at NIH?

80% of NIH employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated NIH 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.2 for culture and values and 3.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at NIH?

Postdoctoral Fellow (298) , Research Fellow (124) , Postbaccalaureate IRTA (103) , Staff Scientist (63) , Postdoctoral Research Fellow (40) , Intern (38) , Research Assistant (38) , Summer Intern (29) , Post-Baccalaureate Fellow (27) , Scientist (25) , Research Scientist (23) , Biologist (22) , Program Analyst (21) , Post Doctoral Fellow (20) , Visiting Fellow (20)

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

"The people are great and having a role in biomedical research is rewarding" ((in 141 reviews)); "Good benefits and thrift savings plan (like a 401K) with up to 4% employer contribution per year." ((in 138 reviews)); "good work/life balance and super friendly teammates" ((in 74 reviews)); "Great lab and colleagues." ((in 59 reviews)); "Great opportunity to be mentored and grow as a scientist" ((in 46 reviews))

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

"Low salaries and lack of benefit." ((in 75 reviews)); "can become repetitive, sometime poor management, same activity repeated," ((in 32 reviews)); ""Bad" Departments has poor leadership, micromanage and terrible behaviors unbecoming of what a manager should be." ((in 13 reviews)); "Lots of bureaucracy and red tape to navigate" ((in 13 reviews)); "Certain managers (and this is a systematic problem government wide) that focus on promotion based on "time in grade" rather than job performance." ((in 9 reviews))

What are employees saying about NIH redundancies in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about NIH redundancy and their outlook for job security at NIH in 2026.

What are the top reviewed NIH locations?

Hamilton , Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu

NIH Reviews

4.1

80% would recommend to a friend

(2,340 total reviews)

Francis S. Collins

82% approve of CEO

60% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Ethnic group

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

NIH has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,340 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The NIH 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

2K reviews

5.0

Jun 26, 2026

Stress-free, science-driven work but slow processes

Scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Not stressful, science based, not profit.

Cons

Slow processes, too many meetings.

4.0

Jun 25, 2026

Amazing potential, toxic nursing management

Senior clinical research nurse

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Working with the some of the smartest scientists and clinicians in the world. So many learning opportunities. Kind patients. Allowed time to care for patients as there is no pressure of quotas by health insurance.

Cons

Nursing management can be verbally abusive with frequent retaliation and intimidation. As most older nurses have worked there for most of their career, they are dismissive of new perspectives and resistant to evidence-based practice.

3.0

Jun 17, 2026

Friendly team with flexible schedule, but poor management

Management analyst

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

People are generally friendly, the schedule flexibility is pretty good

Cons

The current administration is not good at managing anything. Their directives constantly change and leave us with more work and less output.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 2,340 Reviews

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·

US$111K - US$155K /yr

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NIH Reviews

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Reviews by job title

Stress-free, science-driven work but slow processes

Amazing potential, toxic nursing management

Friendly team with flexible schedule, but poor management

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