Northwestern University Employer Reviews

I worked in a research lab 10-12 hours a day. The facilities were top notch and I had access to whatever equipment I needed to get work done, plus expert colleagues to assist and advise. I may have had to work 70 hours a week to meet goals, but it was a beautiful and stimulating place to do it.
As far as management goes...well it is a university, most – more... of that depended heavily on who your supervisor was. One thing I did notice that was institution wide was a tendency to be very restrictive about who would qualify for the generous benefits the school offered. In four years working there, I only qualified for benefits for 3 months because I brought in my own grant money to pay my salary and was thus considered an independent contractor for most of that time. It's a big trend these days and NU is right up there in exploiting it. – less

Working for Northwestern University has it's perks. Location in downtown is great and employee parking is discounted drastically on a salary tier. However, over the years I've learned NU management has becomes less flexible with exempt employees. Often working as an exempt salaried employee means you will be working late nights or early mornings. For – more... the most part, it's departmentally monitored but if you have a manager who hates his/her job, it effects the office culture dramatically.

An office/operations manager should be fair across the board and work on improving office staff relations, understanding work loads thoroughly and not show favoring towards anyone. This was not the case in one department. – less

This is a great place to work. Work hard, play hard is the motto!

Great management team with strong communication. Clear direction and training provided.

Great staff. Great benefits. I miss it. The atmosphere is very laid back and the environment is warm and welcoming. It was a phenomenal experience.

I learned problem solving techniques, organizational skills for reviewing a steady stream of submissions, responses and coordinating monthly meetings; writing, revising and implementing SOPs; federal regulations regarding human subjects research

There is plenty of job security working at Northwestern. They have some of the best benefits around and work/ life balance is ideal. Working at NU is probably not the best for advancement as people never leave so there are no immediate opportunities for advancement.

As an employee I can tell you that the environment has changed dramatically over the last several years. Although the employees are wonderful people to work with, the management is another matter altogether. In particular, the working environment at Feinberg has become totally toxic. In the basic sciences division, the new team leader has destroyed – more... the previously pleasant and collegial atmosphere, turned employees against each other, and is responsible for several employees in that division going on medical/sick leaves due to the constant tension and stress he has created. – less

Great benefits. Got my bachelor's degree while I was working.....enjoyed working with the students.

Provide educational opportunities that help school personnel, family members, and others in the community work together more effectively.

Worked closely with 11 professors and 2 other Program Assistants in the office.
I learned more information about the Engineering Science & Applied Mathematics Department.
The Chairman of the Department was very intelligent.
My co-worker was very friendly and helpful.
The hardest part of the job was juggling the demands and requests of all 11 professors – more... at one time.
The most enjoyable part of the job was interacting with the students. – less

A typical day at work was to file the music library, schedule studio performances, and lessons. Make the flow of the ensemble easier by making sure music folders were ready. Occasionally, get in touch with guest performers and attempt to make them feel welcome and prepared. I prepared for them their official Northwestern flyers and a reading materials – more... for the students to learn about the on coming performer. In addition, about two times per week I had to meet with students to give them lessons on their Saxophone Technique and try and answer and questions they may have.

I learned so much from this experience. I basically learned the ins and outs about running a music studio. I had to learn on my own to get in touch with publishers, solo performers, and composers.I learned the things I need to know as a musician outside of music because part of teaching, or playing there is always an administrative portion to it.

The management was great. My manager was my teacher and advisor. We had a great relationship and he would always let me know what was needed of me.

The hardest part of the job was trying to balance school and work.

The most enjoyable part was the learning. Knowing that the experience was making me a better more resourceful and knowledgeable musician outside of music. – less

Learned a lot but lower compensation . Great learning experience

Conduct experiment, report in group meeting, write papers

I WAS A TEMP, SO A HAD DIFFERENT JOBS, I ANSWER PHONES, TYPE FILE, HELPED THE STUDENTS AND THE TEACHERS, PUT UP SUPPLIES A VARY OF JOBS, I ENJOYED WORKING WITH THE TEACHERS AND THE STUDENTS WERE ALL SO HELPFUL. THE HARDEST PART WAS NOT BEING ABLE WORK SOMETIMES WITH THE SAME DEPARTMENT. BUT I WAS ABLE TO GET NEW EXPERIENCE WITHIN THE UNIVERSITY.

Assist PI and graduate students with experiments, at NU medical school. Downtown Chicago Campus.

A great work environment, unfortunately I went on medical leave and need a job to help my body readjust to daily life activities so I can return to work at NU soon.

I have learned, conflict resolution, mediation, service excellence, detailed oriented, customer insight,

Very productive and beautiful campus;
Competitive environment;
Friendly academia study

Responsible for managing a workforce of 2200 students in the college work-study program.
Responsible for the implementation of a campus-wide job classification system.
Responsible for the awarding of student financial aid to returning students as well as incoming freshmen.

do chemical and biological experiments everyday in lab to develop new biomaterials.