Is Fermilab a good company to work for?

Fermilab has an overall rating of 3.4 out of 5, based on over 334 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has increased by 11% over the last 12 months. 52% of employees would recommend working at Fermilab to a friend and 37% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Fermilab have been left by employees working as Intern , Postdoctoral Research Associate and Engineer .

Does Fermilab pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Fermilab employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.6 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Fermilab. This rating has improved by 4% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Fermilab?

52% of Fermilab employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Fermilab 3.8 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.0 for culture and values and 3.1 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Fermilab?

Intern (18) , Engineer (11) , Postdoctoral Research Associate (10) , Summer Intern (10) , Research Associate (7) , Software Engineer (7) , Graduate Research Assistant (6) , Research Intern (6) , Technician (5) , Undergraduate Research Assistant (5) , Mechanical Engineer (4) , Senior Engineer (4) , Staff Engineer (4) , Administrative Assistant (3) , Financial Analyst (3)

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

"people are nice and friendly" ((in 35 reviews)); "The benefits and time off are great." ((in 29 reviews)); "Friendly work environment." ((in 9 reviews)); "Landscapes and nature, Wilson Hall building, some decent coworkers, some benefits, great science." ((in 5 reviews)); "Beautiful campus doing globally important work." ((in 5 reviews))

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

"DOE and FRA Management is an absolute train wreck, negligently incompetent at all levels." ((in 9 reviews)); "Managers are detached and don’t fully understand those below them" ((in 7 reviews)); "low salary and low working efficiency" ((in 7 reviews)); "Annual layoffs are now the norm." ((in 5 reviews))

What are employees saying about Fermilab layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed Fermilab locations?

Batavia , Chicago , Aurora , DeKalb , Warrenville , Champaign , Carpentersville , Hanover Park , Naperville , Galesburg , Minneapolis , Los Angeles , Bettendorf , Illinoi

Fermilab reviews

3.4

52% would recommend to a friend

(228 total reviews)

Nigel Lockyer

47% approve of CEO

37% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

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Parent or family caregiver

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Fermilab has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 228 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Fermilab employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Government & Public Administration industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

228 reviews

5.0

May 11, 2016

Fermilab

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Exciting work opportunities, family friendly atmosphere, work life balance

Cons

Dependency on public funding, old infrastructure in certain areas (however, in process of upgrading), too many home grown IT systems

1.0

Oct 27, 2012

Mentally Challenging, but Wallet Challenging

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

I enjoy the work, lots of variety, The great work environment of the past is rapidly disappearing. I enjoy the vast majority of my coworkers, and look forward to each day. The lab sure has changed for the worse over the last 10 years.

Cons

Low Salaries, which did NOT keep up with neighboring industry. The original great benefits have been chipped away to below average benefits at best. With annual layoffs the last several years caused by Dept. of Energy budget problems, the future looks bleak. The claim that they value their best asset, their employees, simply is not backed up by their actions.

3.0

Aug 9, 2012

Forefront of science. Back end of common sense.

Applic dev & sys analyst iii

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Collegiate atmosphere -- no corporate dress code. Lots of intelligent educated people. Lots of international exchange. Interesting research on the cutting edge of science. Lovely campus, an oasis of green.

Cons

Lots of government-required paperwork overhead for everything, being implemented in ways that are completely brain-dead and non-sensical. It's more important to have the process documented than to do the actual work. It didn't used to be this way here, but it sure is now. I guess this is a plague hitting all sorts of work places, it isn't unique to Fermilab... so the good things outweigh the bad overall.

Viewing 37 - 39 of 228 Reviews

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Jobs at Fermilab

Security Officer (Day Shift)

Student Research Assistant

Folder Gluer Operator

Outdoor Property Control Clerk

Fermilab

Fermilab reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Fermilab

Mentally Challenging, but Wallet Challenging

Forefront of science. Back end of common sense.

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Jobs at Fermilab