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Harvard University

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Great balance, positive atmosphere but not great for advancement or development - Senior Software Engineer Harvard University Employee Review

4.0
Mar 14, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The benefits, hours, and general work environment are great. There are a lot of available resources (libraries, gyms, discounts, etc.) and Harvard Square is a great area. Management is supportive and seems genuinely interested in moving the IT organization forward. It is a great place for people with families, a friendly atmosphere and the stress levels are relatively low.

Cons

Things change at a glacial pace which can be a problem when working with technology. The pay is below industry standard and this has been getting worse in recent years. The perks and benefits used to partially make up for it but this is no longer true in my opinion. It can be very hard to move up at Harvard because there is very little turnover or growth. When opportunities do open up they seem to frequently hire from the outside. There are a wide range of IT activities going on but it's very hard to get involved or even learn about them because groups are very silo'd. There does seem to be an expressed desire to change some of these things from upper management but this has also been expressed in the past and I'm not optimistic that this will happen quickly.

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5.0
Jul 13, 2026
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Pros

Light work if you have the right team

Cons

Low pay for amount of work

2.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Great Union and benefits for non-profits/higher ed. Wonderful colleagues outside of leadership!

Cons

GSD Development and Alumni Relations (under current leadership) is an incredibly toxic work environment. I didn't realize the intensity of the toll it took on my until after leaving, and I am not one to leave a negative review, but as they are hiring for several positions currently, I wish to share words of caution with applicants. Cons: - Absolutely not a safe space for anyone who is Black, brown, trans, queer, working-class, or disabled - 100% top-down direction. No room for personal exploration, initiative, or creativity. - Minimal guidance from leadership - Frequent pivots, even in the late stages of projects - Petty, immature talking behind your back by leadership - No upward mobility unless the Associate Dean or Dean like you - Deeply disingenuous comments, reflections, and feedback from leadership - Complete lack of transparency on direction, goals, etc. - Small mistakes are made cornerstones of performance evaluations, while leadership routinely missteps. Leadership never takes accountability. - Top-down policy decisions, completely lacking detail, thought, and care outside of legal ramifications - Ever-changing in-office requirements

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