Does Smithsonian pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Smithsonian employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.7 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Smithsonian. This rating has improved by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Smithsonian?

66% of Smithsonian employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Smithsonian 4.1 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.4 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Smithsonian?

Intern (56) , Internship (13) , Explainer (10) , Retail Sales Associate (9) , Sales Associate (9) , Contractor (8) , Postdoctoral Fellow (8) , Research Assistant (8) , Museum Specialist (7) , Program Coordinator (7) , Security Officer (7) , Archivist (6) , Curator (6) , Education Specialist (6) , Program Assistant (6)

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

"And you will meet so many great people (tourist) from all over the world." ((in 70 reviews)); "Good benefits and bear transit" ((in 33 reviews)); "Great staff I enjoyed my time there." ((in 24 reviews)); "Great coworkers and behind the scenes access to museum collections" ((in 18 reviews)); "Amazing opportunities to work on global projects and collaborate with internationally celebrated artists and scholars." ((in 17 reviews))

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

"Pay is low but definitely no lower than industry standards." ((in 26 reviews)); "Low salary for DC metropolitan area" ((in 15 reviews)); "Lack of leadership and hard to fire" ((in 14 reviews)); "Unpaid internship where I was doing some of the same work that paid employees were doing." ((in 12 reviews)); "Long hours and very administrative at times" ((in 9 reviews))

What are the top reviewed Smithsonian locations?

Washington , Chantilly , New York , Suitland , Arlington , Chicago , Front Royal , Annapolis , Edgewater , District Heights , Falls Church , Herndon , Manassas , Sterling , Wisconsin Rapids , Tucson , Ann Arbor , Burlington , Saint Cloud , Shepherdstown , San Diego , Berkeley , Las Vegas , Ruston , Seattle , Catonsville , Columbia , California , Chevy Chase , Fort Washington

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Smithsonian

Smithsonian reviews

4.1

66% would recommend to a friend

(508 total reviews)

Dr. David J. Skorton

75% approve of CEO

64% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.3

Diversity & inclusion

4.1

Work/Life balance

4.0

Culture & values

3.7

Compensation and benefits

3.4

Senior management

3.4

Career opportunities

Smithsonian has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 508 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Smithsonian employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Nonprofit & NGO industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

508 reviews

4.0

Jul 13, 2016

Director

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Fascinating people and exhibits always new

Cons

Employees in higher level positions tend to stay.

5.0

Jul 13, 2016

Past Intern

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Company with some much history and information and knowledge to share, really inspiring place to work, people really enthusiastic about their area of focus is; continuing to do research; learn something new every day

Cons

Such a big institution that it could be hard to start something new (like a campaign, etc.), can see how it could get stuck in its ways; also can be hard with so many museums because each one wants to focus on itself to promote, so promoting individual museums vs. the entire smithsonian name; also seems like limited job opportunities after interning

2.0

Jul 1, 2016

Confluence of the drawbacks of government, non-profit and academe

Development department assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The institution offers wonderful educational benefits to the Washington, DC community and to people all over the world. Funding for the institutions activities is very stable overall, so there are few budget crunches. There is a lot of variety between the units, so some of them have excellent working environments.

Cons

The internal management systems are bureaucratic and inefficient. There is a lot of competition between individuals, departments and factions within departments. There is little flexibility for management to eliminate employees who are inefficient or are not contributing positively to a team environment.

Viewing 391 - 393 of 508 Reviews

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Jobs at Smithsonian

Museum Specialist (General)

Collections Move Coordinator

Museum Specialist (General)

Administrative Officer