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 12% 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 22 reviews)); "Friendly work environment." ((in 8 reviews)); "Good work life balance and nice people" ((in 6 reviews)); "Landscapes and nature, Wilson Hall building, some decent coworkers, some benefits, great science." ((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 8 reviews)); "low salary and low working efficiency" ((in 7 reviews)); "Annual layoffs are now the norm." ((in 4 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

Sexual orientation

Disability

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

4.0

Oct 29, 2012

Great environment to work and learn as a young professional.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits, great and knowlegdeable individuals to work with and learn from. Fermilab is a great place to gain experience. The work hardly ever gets boring and most of all, you get to think out of the box all the time coming up with designs for intruments that are very unique.

Cons

Can be a little laid back. The initial salary is competitive and up there with industry, but actually salary growth can be slow. Moving up the ranks can take some time too, but technical accuity is important for moving up over here.

3.0

Sep 25, 2012

Fermilab - used to be a great place to work

Systems administrator

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.

5.0

Nov 8, 2011

A great first internship experience for a passionate high school student.

Quarknet robotics intern

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The best Pro of working at fermilab is the amazing people who work there. Everyday you see interesting algorithms, diagrams, code on the blackboards and whiteboards in offices, and you just can't help but be fascinated by the possibilities of science.

Cons

I guess it was a little intimidating, but overall once you get used to it, you really won't find any cons to fermilab.

Viewing 211 - 213 of 228 Reviews

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Student Research Assistant

Outdoor Property Control Clerk

Fermilab

Fermilab reviews

Company ratings over time

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Great environment to work and learn as a young professional.

Fermilab - used to be a great place to work

A great first internship experience for a passionate high school student.

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Jobs at Fermilab