Is NIH a good company to work for?

NIH has an overall rating of 4.1 out of 5, based on over 2,841 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months. 80% of employees would recommend working at NIH to a friend and 60% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about NIH have been left by employees working as Postdoctoral Researcher , Intern and Summer Intern .

Does NIH pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, NIH employees rate their compensation and benefits as 4.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at NIH. This rating has decreased by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at NIH?

80% of NIH employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated NIH 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.2 for culture and values and 3.9 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at NIH?

Postdoctoral Fellow (298) , Research Fellow (124) , Postbaccalaureate IRTA (103) , Staff Scientist (63) , Postdoctoral Research Fellow (40) , Intern (38) , Research Assistant (38) , Summer Intern (29) , Post-Baccalaureate Fellow (27) , Scientist (25) , Research Scientist (23) , Biologist (22) , Program Analyst (21) , Post Doctoral Fellow (20) , Visiting Fellow (20)

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

"The people are great and having a role in biomedical research is rewarding" ((in 149 reviews)); "Benefits are great and as expected" ((in 134 reviews)); "Flexible and good work/life balance" ((in 80 reviews)); "Great lab and colleagues." ((in 56 reviews)); "Great opportunity to be mentored and grow as a scientist" ((in 51 reviews))

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

"Low salaries and lack of benefit." ((in 79 reviews)); "can become repetitive, sometime poor management, same activity repeated," ((in 29 reviews)); ""Bad" Departments has poor leadership, micromanage and terrible behaviors unbecoming of what a manager should be." ((in 15 reviews)); "too much bureaucracy and regulations" ((in 14 reviews)); "Certain managers (and this is a systematic problem government wide) that focus on promotion based on "time in grade" rather than job performance." ((in 9 reviews))

What are employees saying about NIH layoffs in 2026?

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

What are the top reviewed NIH locations?

Bethesda , Rockville , Washington , Baltimore , Frederick , Durham , Gaithersburg , Silver Spring , Research Triangle Park , New York , North Bethesda , Phoenix , Raleigh , Boston , Herndon , Maryland Heights , Houston , Columbia , Bowie , Cambridge , Shady Grove , Little Falls , New Brunswick , Wayne , Princeton , Chicago , Kewanee , Annandale , Clifton , Reston

NIH reviews

4.1

80% would recommend to a friend

(2,340 total reviews)

Francis S. Collins

82% approve of CEO

60% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

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NIH has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,340 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The NIH employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

1.0

May 18, 2017

Anonymous

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Zilch...honestly. It is a big bubble of contradiction in what their mission is and their practices.

Cons

Bigotry, discrimination, upper management throws around their titles to intimidate employees, no room for growth, cramped work areas, terrible parking, flexible work schedules are not available to all, no direction from leadership (esp. after the hiring freeze), leadership is barely ever there, staff do not collaborate unless forced to by upper management, the staff is cliquish, alternative facts are discussed all the time with contradictions to the mission, there is absolutely no respect among staff unless you are upper management and/or you brown nose to upper management. Honestly, this place is soul-crushing and creates disastrous opportunities for career growth.

2.0

Oct 1, 2016

Growth is not based on Skills and capabilities

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

A lot of possibilities to advance the mission of NIH and public health. It's really a good feeling to be part of the mission.

Cons

While mission of NIH is really great, working to achieve it through corrupt hiring has made it close to impossible. The fact that NIH can get any work done is a miracle with type of workers and managers running the show. Is everyone bad? No these are good people. Some are bad and know how to work the system others are just enjoying the ride by doing minimum. With no real way to be replaced, US tax payers continue to pay the salaries of unskilled and nonperforming workers. These nonperforming workers get promoted to managers by their friends. Hiring is not fair. Federal employees lack the skills to do the job and so contractors hired to do the work. Some contractors have been there for years. These contractors act and behave like federal employees. Federal employee who supposed to provide oversight become friends with contractors and fail to provide proper oversight resulting in waste of public funds. Discrimination and nepotism is wide spread. Hiring by unskilled managers results in hiring unskilled federal and contract staff. Even the internship hiring is corrupt by hiring family and/or friends.

3.0

May 16, 2019

NIH Program Officer

Program officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Steady salary, good benefits, convenient location near public transport

Cons

Upward mobility limited, decisions influenced by factors other than scientific merit

Viewing 7 - 9 of 2,340 Reviews

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Jobs at NIH

Computational Biologist

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Hamilton, MT

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Postbaccalaureate Fellow

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Growth is not based on Skills and capabilities

NIH Program Officer

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