Is Elsevier a good company to work for?

Elsevier has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 2,535 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 78% of employees would recommend working at Elsevier to a friend and 75% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Elsevier have been left by employees working as Software Engineer , Editor and Manager .

Does Elsevier pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Elsevier employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Elsevier. This rating has improved by 1% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Elsevier?

78% of Elsevier employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Elsevier 4.4 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.2 for culture and values and 3.6 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Elsevier?

Software Engineer (78) , Senior Software Engineer (63) , Account Manager (61) , Product Manager (55) , Journal Manager (49) , Project Manager (37) , Publisher (30) , Director (29) , Editor (28) , Manager (23) , Sales (22) , Editorial Project Manager (21) , Software Engineer III (19) , Marketing (18) , Data Scientist (16)

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

"Flexibility and good work/life balance" ((in 291 reviews)); "You get the chance to work with great people that are very driven and know their subject area very well." ((in 165 reviews)); "Great employees and colleagues" ((in 142 reviews)); "Great company and team to work for." ((in 55 reviews)); "Customers shows lot of respect to the company good work culture" ((in 42 reviews))

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

"We're continued to be asked to develop "world class content" with third world resources and insultingly low salaries." ((in 89 reviews)); "The pay is low and does not increase by much each year" ((in 85 reviews)); "Management on the corporate side is poor with very little business development experience." ((in 82 reviews)); "level and higher managers result in poor leadership and decision" ((in 54 reviews)); "There are also bad managers and seemingly no easy way to reduce their impact on the staff for whom they are responsible." ((in 53 reviews))

What are employees saying about Elsevier layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Elsevier locations?

Philadelphia , New York , Saint Louis , Maryland Heights , San Diego , Atlanta , Gainesville , Dayton , Boston , Cambridge , Houston , Pittsburgh , Tampa , Phila , Orlando , Washington , San Francisco , Waltham , Texas City , Minneapolis , Miamisburg , Berkeley , Rockville , Miami , Salt Lake City , Chicago , Dallas , Los Angeles , North Andover , Woodbury

Elsevier reviews

4.0

78% would recommend to a friend

(2,190 total reviews)

Kumsal Bayazit

91% approve of CEO

75% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.4

Diversity & inclusion

4.4

Work/Life balance

4.2

Culture & values

3.6

Senior management

3.6

Compensation and benefits

3.6

Career opportunities

Elsevier has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 2,190 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Elsevier employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

4.0

Jun 7, 2021

Data Analyst

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

People are highly educated, open minded and very friendly.

Cons

The sector is old, there are still a lot of old fashioned things happening in the organisation.

3.0

Jun 6, 2021

Good work life balance, hard to move up the ladder

Software engineer ii

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Very understanding of time off for all reasons, children included.

Cons

Very hard to move up promotions within making a big deal of yourself and following all paths.

4.0

May 27, 2021

High energy, positive company doing good in the world

Operations manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great atmosphere and a constant mood for improvement and change. Good flexible working arrangements and great office space for when you are in one of the many offices. Truly a global company, you will work with people from around the world on a daily baisis, both in person and online. Generally very well led by senior staff.

Cons

Elsevier is a place where certain people, mainly the most senior staff, can get very comfortable. This leads to a degree of stagnation that seeps down the hierarchy. An example is that they have recently undergone a (genuine and good) agile transformation - however the most senior staff are ALWAYS behind in generating their goals - to the extent that in no year when I worked there were my senior managers' goals presented to me in advance of me being required to align and submit mine. This lethargy from the senior team has a real negative effect on the degree of energy and enthusiasm. Certain roles are filled by place-men who will likely be with the company until they retire. These people have built empires that are resistant to change. They are pretty easy to spot, since they display characteristics at odds with the rest of the company (who are genuinely great colleagues). Advancement at the company is not great - promotions are stymied by senior staff, and pay decisions are made solely on the basis of the balance sheet.

Viewing 1939 - 1941 of 2,190 Reviews

Jobs at Elsevier

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Data Analyst, Drug Product Content

Elsevier

Elsevier reviews

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Data Analyst

Good work life balance, hard to move up the ladder

High energy, positive company doing good in the world

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