research assistant

graduate researcher

research scientist

administrative assistant

postdoctoral fellow

California Institute of Technology

From a staff perspective Caltech can be a great place to work if you have a good manager.  But if you have a bad one, and there are a number of them on campus, then your experience will not be favorable at this university.  

There are a lot of outdated processes and bureaucracy in administration.   Considering that this is the institute of technology, their own internal administrative systems are severely lacking.  They have a "follow the herd" mentality, following bits and pieces of what other universities do instead of forging new paths and developing new ways of doing things.  When they do put some new technology in place, instead of using it to make the overall process easier and more efficient for staff, it instead makes things more difficult and inefficient. The staff is then pressured to perform at the same level as before, even during layoffs, cutbacks and attrition. 

If you are fortunate and have a good leader, you can survive and may thrive here.  But for many, management is cut throat and out for themselves.  They line their own pockets while employees receive a measly two percent raise, and that is if the university even gives you that.  There have been some years where no raises have been given to staff at all.  Again, this varies depending on the department you work in.  

Overall, the organization is very elitist, sexesit and ageist.   Favoritism runs rampant here.  They claim to be fair but when staff go to human resources they protect the elite administrative management from repercussions of their actions.  Most employees are afraid to lose their jobs by reporting these managers and instead just tolerate the mistreatment because HR will not do anything to resolve the problems.  

Overall, if I were giving a friend advice about working here, I would tell them to tread carefully.   The university appears to be a great place to work, but when you pull back the curtain, you might be surprised at what you find.

I've succeeded at every company I've worked for, including some of the top businesses in the country, because I give 110% everyday. I figured this would be a boon for me to work at such a highly regarding institution. I was WRONG!!! The management is unsupportive and passive aggressive, the pay is very low, the health benefits are subpar and expensive, there is zero room for advancement, no employee incentive program and the HR department likes to sweep conflicts under the rug to maintain the institutions "reputation". After 25 years of working for various companies, this is by far the worst place I've worked. The only reason why I stay is for the expensive health benefits because I have a child with a medical condition so I am currently stuck at this horrible job. The only saving grace is the co-workers who, unsurprisingly, are also looking for other jobs because of the poor working conditions and culture. To get me to join their "team", I was promised advancement and growth opportunities that never happened. There is never enough money in the budget to give raises. Apparently, there never was or ever will be any money in the budget for raises. They are famous for spending their money on hard costs like installing new doors and awnings but not for soft costs like employee raises. God forbid you actually have happy employees. The turnaround in my department is at least 50%. Yes, 50% of the people that start in my department leave after 1 year. Terrible statistics. Most people is my department do not like the management but stick it out with the hopes that the contract for the head of the department will not be renewed. We are praying for that day.

I worked at Caltech for 10 years as a Program Coordinator.  My job entailed coordination of customized management programs for high-tech companies.  I was involved in initial contact/requests for information, cost estimating, proposal writing, working with instructors to prepare program materials, production of materials, shipment of materials to customer location, after-program follow up, billing and collections, and payment of instructors.  I also prepared travel arrangements, prepared travel reimbursements, coordinated office supplies ordering, processed monthly credit card reconciliation, processed payments for individuals in our programs, handled deposits.

I worked closely with the Director of the department on a daily basis.

The diversity of the types of job tasks was the best part of the job.

The most challenging part of the job was the fact that we'd once been a department of 12 people which was downsized to 2 people and so the workload was overwhelming at times.  The need to work long hours and weekends on a regular basis became tedious.

If you are one of the favored individuals you are guaranteed a good experience and advancement but if you expect to be recognized for collaboration and hard work that won't be enough to make the cut.  The daily work is mundane and some of my co-workers are lazy and apathetic.  There are some nice people to work with and some groups overworked while some buyers spend all day socializing and watching YouTube videos.  The department director turns a blind eye and allows her friends to get away with whatever they want to do. CalTech seems to be a prestigious place to work but that is only if you end up landing in the right department.  Actual experiences vary from department to department.  They don't reinvest in the administrative side and their systems and operations are antiqated. Overall the school is in the dark ages with a high opinion of themselves and they don't know the world is passing them by.

I appreciate this job because everyone shares the same vision and is dedicated to the mission. This truly creates a family environment where everybody is there for each other. I like the autonomy I have because my bosses allow me to innovate. I also love the people I work with. I like that I have a great degree of control and freedom within my job. I work full-time, both in and out-of-office, and my boss trusts me to produce high quality work and results. I work hard to maintain that level of trust, which keeps me engaged and excited. I like the autonomy I have because my bosses allow me to innovate. The variability of my job is what gets me up in the morning. I know I provide a professional service to the institute and contractors and I am able to contribute my experience and skills

This is the worst place I have ever worked for.  The managers in the vivarium were paranoid demanding employees not take breaks or socialize as if they were conspiring against them.  They would accuse you of knowing how to do something they never taught you they would pit employees against each other they would pick on a certain employee and ride them until they quit and when that one would quit because they couldnt take it anymore they would pick on another one.  They stalk employees social medias accounts like MySpace Facebook and Twitter and make false accusations about how they were putting information and pictures about the lab animals they use on their.  I was so stressed out from working here I just walked  out.

Extremely busy with the needs of the Faculty.  Responsible for the hire of all the Faculty members, process all paperwork for hire, responsible for all their salary, benefits, retirement, leaves of absence, etc.

Learned how to write scripts, export data from one database to another, learned about data integrity and the consequences when one is slack.

Thrilling place to have worked for, friends for life, worked with people from all over the world.  Learned to work with people from different religion, culture, habits, etc.

The most enjoyable part of this job was the knowledge that I received, the training on the job to know what I know and how I am able to apply it to another employer.

My position at Caltech has provided me with wonderful experiences. As a temporary employee with little to know direction other than "help us complete this project," I was encouraged and allowed to thrive in a way that best fit my abilities. After tackling the bureaucratic lull that embodied my first two weeks, I found a perfect niche for my personality and skills: coordinating and managing the field efforts of our earthquake early warning installations. I was allowed to work outside, coordinate field schedules, and act as the point of contact between our contractors, field engineers, and the Network Staff at Caltech.

A typical day required me to take inventory, clean and sanitize all equipment and troubleshoot/resolve any problems with equipment. 

I learned how to work well with co-workers, maintain a clean work environment and how to work in specialized work environments 

The hardest part of the job was using equipment that was not safe. Due to working in a highly sterile environment and working with animals, equipment was needed like gloves and scrubs that were durable. However, these products became cheaper and less efficient due to cuts in funds. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was having a routine and having good co-workers and managers to work with.

Work days are always busy, and it requires efficiency. I have learned the basics of animal husbandry, and a stronger sense of communication with my supervisors. Management, is flexible with employees and needs, and is executed well.  Supervisors are always open to review equipment issues, answer emails and calls effectively. Workplace culture is efficient and time adjusted. Hardest parts of the job, would be constantly removing chemical stains, and maintaining old equipment running. The most enjoyable part of the job would be small events such as speakers, and easy going co-workers.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Research assistant 47 salaries reported	$22.02 per hour
Graduate researcher 5 salaries reported	$49,647 per year
Research scientist 43 salaries reported	$102,932 per year
Administrative assistant 37 salaries reported	$27.43 per hour
Postdoctoral fellow 10 salaries reported	$72,340 per year

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