Is Elsevier a good company to work for?

Elsevier has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 2,534 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 79% 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?

79% of Elsevier employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Elsevier 4.5 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) , Marketing (18) , Software Engineer III (18) , Data Scientist (16)

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

"Flexibility and good work/life balance" ((in 287 reviews)); "You get the chance to work with great people that are very driven and know their subject area very well." ((in 162 reviews)); "Great employees and colleagues" ((in 138 reviews)); "Great company and team to work for." ((in 54 reviews)); "Customers shows lot of respect to the company good work culture" ((in 40 reviews))

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

"the pay is low but everything else was great" ((in 92 reviews)); "We're continued to be asked to develop "world class content" with third world resources and insultingly low salaries." ((in 90 reviews)); "Management on the corporate side is poor with very little business development experience." ((in 78 reviews)); "level and higher managers result in poor leadership and decision" ((in 55 reviews)); "Bad managers aren't re" ((in 51 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

79% would recommend to a friend

(2,189 total reviews)

Kumsal Bayazit

90% approve of CEO

75% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.5

Work/Life balance

4.4

Diversity & inclusion

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 2,189 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

3.0

Sep 9, 2014

Mediocrity with benefits

Senior software engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- Benefits are great. - Job has a solid work/life balance.

Cons

- The company is a publishing company that thinks its a tech company. This leads to short sighted requirements and inadequate infrastructure support. - Constantly changing org structure. Significant realignment of personnel and objectives every other year. - Undefined career progression. Every developer is a Senior Engineer. There are no Junior Engineers and a handful of Principle Engineers but the work is all the same. - Good projects go to Philly. STL gets stuck with fringe/maintenance work.

4.0

Sep 2, 2014

Innovative Spirit

Acquisitions editor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits and opportunities to get involved in various volunteer activities that benefit the community. A spirit of innovation throughout the company that encourages employees to put their best ideas forward. Depending on your department and your motivation, you can climb the ranks and really make a career here.

Cons

Yearly wage increases are not ideal and salaries often fall short of competitors. Difficult to get new ideas off the ground and made into tangible new products Reorgs happen often, making it hard to get solid footing when your work/responsibilities change as well. Workloads/expectations increase regardless of being short staffed

2.0

Aug 31, 2014

Weak PSE Management that is still stuck in old Publishing print days, High turn-over, No Work/Life Balance

Pse sector

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Rewarding to be a part of the educational transformation that is taking place in the PSE market with technology and digital learning aids that improve student outcomes. Clients are really great. Marketing product managers are a good team and willing to jump in as needed. Good brand recognition

Cons

if at this site, you are doing your due diligence in wanting to make the best employ decision for you. Be careful on this one. Management layer contributes little, shows little respect for the sales group and key account managers. Very MICRO managed focus ( no autonomy) . HIGH turn-over mostly because Managers show no trust or value your contribution. Only 35% of sales group hits bonus numbers so if you want to make $$ , evaluate carefully since its an annual bonus which they pay in MAR. Unattainable goals and sales data very unreliable.

Viewing 2002 - 2004 of 2,189 Reviews

Jobs at Elsevier

Quality Test Engineer III

Cell Press Blue Scientific Editor

Elsevier

Elsevier reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Mediocrity with benefits

Innovative Spirit

Weak PSE Management that is still stuck in old Publishing print days, High turn-over, No Work/Life Balance

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