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 37 reviews)); "Benefits are good." ((in 26 reviews)); "Friendly work environment." ((in 8 reviews)); "Good work life balance and nice people" ((in 6 reviews)); "Awesome place to work fun time" ((in 6 reviews))

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

"Low pay (reasonable considering national lab)" ((in 10 reviews)); "Managers are detached and don’t fully understand those below them" ((in 9 reviews)); "DOE and FRA Management is an absolute train wreck, negligently incompetent at all levels." ((in 8 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

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (228 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

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

3.0

Feb 10, 2015

Intellectual freedom, opportunities to work on interesting topics, cutting edge of research.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Wonderful opportunity to get first hand experience for building up a well-balanced skill set for a researcher.

Cons

Extremely few opportunities available for permanent employment. Often it's not about what you know, but who you know ! Surprising .... but it's true even here !

5.0

Nov 22, 2014

Great

Intern

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Really interesting project working alongside an experienced mentor. I also had the opportunity to see lots of experiments, and had a lot of fun with the other interns who were working there too.

Cons

Travel from the UK not paid for, but the salary was good so it was fine in the end, also not much flexibility in terms of arranging an internship, but the dates suited me anyway.

3.0

Sep 12, 2014

beware to retirees

Technical specialist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great place to work if your a self starter and capable. Also earned several college degress while working there.

Cons

Lower managment resent you working outside the " box" regardless of your abilities which do affect your pay raises. If too many engineers, or physicists ask for you personally on their projects this is considered working outside the box too. After Graduating Summa C Laude with a Business Management Degree it was made plain that I would be going nowhere

Viewing 184 - 186 of 228 Reviews

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Jobs at Fermilab

Security Officer (Day Shift)

Student Research Assistant

Folder Gluer Operator

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Fermilab

Fermilab reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Intellectual freedom, opportunities to work on interesting topics, cutting edge of research.

Great

beware to retirees

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Jobs at Fermilab