grader

security officer

instructor

customer service representative

jeweler

Gemological Institute of America

I would only recommend this job to people wanting to get started in the industry because the GIA education (Graduate Gemologist) is free and adding GIA's name to you resume is a boost. But there is no future for you if you don't make the Diamond Grading Specialist position within 5 years, which does not happen.

Benefits are very good but that's it. You can move up quickly from Diamond Grading Associate to Diamond Grader and have a jump in pay but after that pay stagnants quickly. Expect nothing more than a 3% annual raise, never adjusting for inflation. Most employees are working a full second job or have side gigs just to be able to afford basic expenses (this shows in our work as you can see when everyone is exhausted and slacking off). You cannot afford rent working here, even if you are single and have no children.

Management is horrible and incompetent. There is no serious improvement or discussion into improving the workflow to better serve our clients and provide accurate reports. Reports vary drastically because employees turn a blind eye or just get lazy. HR is no help, they protect seriously bad employees (unstable and a danger to themselves and others). Even employees who leak client information on social media are still employed.

To their credit though, with the recent mass layoff, they provided 2 months of paid administrative leave in addition to a severance payment and insurance payment to maintain benefits. Overall, for me, over 15K in payments when I was laid off. I was finally able to get surgery that I was putting off because I lacked sick time and got to take a very nice vacation.

From understanding the properties of of the materials graded and or identified to learning the nuances of Client service and the marketing aspect of the Gem trade.

That being said the workplace culture could do with a complete overhaul. all departments connect and relate in what should be a flawless symmetry even with minor mistakes and or "misfires". but it feels more like each department is dug in for a long drawn out siege. with supervisors and managers scrambling to meet numbers and accusing others of their follow instead of owning up to their shortcomings and re doubling their efforts. this, of course trickles down to the staff who then feel obligated to adopt a harsh survival tactic. "CYA" is the order of the day and anyone who forgets this can wind up in front of a firing squad...not really but this is the perception spread among the troops. this in turn cause stress and tension to rise. 

     Management, can use some more training in leadership and actual management. there tends to be more micro-management and less lead from the front or Lead by example.

The hardest part of the job is instilling a positive out look, encouraging fresh ideas and creativity. enforcing policy with lackluster support from policy makers.

Lastly the one thing i Enjoy about my job is helping clients whether they be in the industry or Public clients. to offer them a reliable and understanding presence in an intimidating and aggressively marketed industry

First, it's a beautiful campus; absolutely breathtaking! However, all the negatives of this organization overshadow the beauty of this campus. This organization is stuck 20 years in the past with processes and procedures (or lack thereof, mostly lack of). Most management are just "yes" people and are subservient. You'll learn that many of them were just there so long they were promoted to a management position. Some new management/executive type of personnel hired end up being "yes" people too. They scream for change but when anyone tries to change things for the better, they scream that it changes. There is so much interdepartmental and intradepartmental fighting, it's ridiculous. How anything is accomplished throughout the year and how they manage to stay afloat is beyond my comprehension. 
With all that being said, there are some great people that work there, some have been there so long that they've been "beaten" down by the system, and just don't want to leave. It's a shame. I wouldn't recommend this organization  to anyone looking for work.

The pay was good along with the benefits/bonuses and PTO they give. I definitely learned a lot and got some good experience working in a lab which is highly valuable. The environment however was not for people like myself. Co-workers were all very friendly and nice for the most part. However, the majority of the time things seemed out of control and management often shrugged things off and didn't seem on top of outstanding issues. It didn't seem like any one person's fault, it was more of a group complacency problem. Huge lack of communication, not only in one's own team (at least mine), but throughout nearly all other departments. You can definitely work your way up and be very successful if you commit to the job for a decade and really enjoy and are good at what you do there but expect to be under a lot of pressure and general confusion about what is going on around you.

Funny how a place could overwork and have so little work at the same time. My department and those adjacent were staring blankly half the day even upon being hired. Also weird that there’s routinely new hires and almost completely different people in departments because they do frequent layoffs. And really poor show of respect to those who have worked decades in the company. Was let go with people who had worked for 10+ years, some 20. only to be hiring new people for their position now (obviously to pay people less). Hired folks just under retirement age which is a bad look. Also heavily enforced time off for folks that were going to be let go anyway? And let go people that were not even at work and on leave for grief/loss in the family. 

GIA is a very diverse company with many locations all over the world and the work environment is just as diverse with people from all backgrounds and unique individuals work together. Excellent Benefits and pay can be rewarding as long as you work hard. Advancement can be challenging, but there us usually a few internal positions to look into. Most of us wear many hats, for example my morning was dedicated to working with the Quality Specialist team and afternoon mostly dedicated to Fancy color diamond grading. An individual's day can be broken up into different activities, like participating in special projects, traveling etc. Overall I had a great experience working there and learned a lot! The power to grow and advance rests within the individual and the amount of effort they put into their job

Working in a high-security diamond lab required adhering to strict rules about showing up on time, accountability for all diamonds graded, and always working with co-workers and supervisors on the final grading of all diamonds.

Staff and co-workers were very helpful and friendly - I maintain friendships with many of the people I worked with at the lab. We had a very unique job, and as such, found that being able to spend time together outside of the lab was a great way of unwinding and learning from each other on how best to excel at a job that required us to basically stare at diamonds under a microscope for 8 hours a day.

Some people here are amazing, sprinkled in with a bunch of not so great coworkers. They used to have really good potlucks but that’s gone down the drain as well. Working in very close quarters with too many angry and introverted individuals who mostly dislike the environment and leadership. They love to micromanage employees, watching when you go to the bathroom or take a break while they walk around and gossip all day. Bad look and bad taste, so happy I left, has changed my life completely being around genuinely caring people as opposed to what I was exposed to for almost a decade. If you go in and keep your head down and don’t talk to anyone you might skate by with an okay day.  VERY STRESSFUL on your body, many people have had surgery or injuries. Takes  a lot to get that taken care of as well. 

You get there 20 min early to get through security. Than you do your job and have fun enjoying the perks of the jobs like on sight cook, babysitting, volleyball court, basketball court, walking path, break room has stunning views of the rainbow flower field above the outlets for shopping during your hour long lunch or just sitting there enjoying a spectacular view of the ocean, yaughts, boats and some  sea life with binoculars. Everyone is very helpful. You will be working with allot of diversity, language barriers and cultural differences. Everyone enjoys learning from each other and sharing our American culture differences with there coworkers in which is a lot fun. 


The company training was excellent and prepared you well for the job. Most co-workers are good to work with and always ready to assist when needed. Some people in the management plays favorite to the butt kissers, yes they exists in GIA too. Management does not alert their staff ahead of time when it's time to downsize. You will find out you are being terminated on the day you come to work. Work experience, seniority and expertise at what you do don't even come into consideration. Staff who were hired with less than a year of experience were retain and let go of the ones with many years under their belt. Quality was sacrificed over quantity.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Grader 3 salaries reported	$22.75 per hour
Security officer 7 salaries reported	$21.43 per hour
Instructor 3 salaries reported	$77,507 per year
Customer service representative 2 salaries reported	$25.88 per hour
Jeweler 7 salaries reported	$78,214 per year

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