Fermilab - used to be a great place to work - Systems Administrator Fermilab Employee Review

3.0
Sep 25, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

work with some of the smartest folks on the planet. Good benefits. Very casual, campus-like work environment.

Cons

The computing division is very silo'd. You will get good at your one job, but will have your hand slapped if you get caught trying to do something outside of your dept. You won't be doing your IT career much good by working for Fermilab for a long time. The re-orgs every 6 months get pretty old too. THey just replaced all of the desktop support people with Dell managed services, which had the effect of gutting morale for the remaining IT departments. Everyone is in job-saving mode, and nobody is very interested in working together. The salary freeze is getting old too.

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5.0
Mar 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

best working environment I have ever worked

Cons

There are no cons for this.

2.0
Apr 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It is a place with strong potential, good technical infrastructure, and a beautiful natural setting. It offers a diverse mix of people and professions, and it typically provides more stability and flexibility than industry, along with a fair salary.

Cons

Professionals outside the physics discipline are often not given full recognition as subject-matter experts in their own fields and are frequently overridden by individuals in senior or privileged positions. In many cases, decisions are driven more by influence, convenience, or personal preference than by operational needs or technical best practices. As a result, non-physicist professionals may be relegated to routine or less desirable tasks, while higher-visibility projects and decision-making responsibilities are concentrated elsewhere. Basicaly non-physicist professionals are hired to support or maintain systems that were implemented without sufficient planning or domain expertise, leaving significant room for improvement. This dynamic can lead to underutilization of specialized talent, reduced efficiency, operational challenges, frustration among staff, and, over time, burnout. Definitively not a good place to work for non-physicist professionals. NOTE: The actual CEO is Norbert Holtkamp

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