registered nurse

patient care technician

systems analyst

physician assistant

software engineer

UPMC

When I first accepted my position with UPMC, I was elated.  Being one of the largest employers in Pittsburgh, as well as Southwestern Pennsylvania in general, there were a lot of facets to look forward to.  As an entry-level employee, I enjoyed a decent salary, excellent benefits, awesome perks, and paid training.  

When you start, you get to go to two introductory meetings "Beginnings" and I can't quite remember what they called the other.  The first day, you learn all about UPMC.  You're in a large room with every type of new employee, from environmental services to physicians.  They play games to help you learn useless knowledge about the company that you will never use again, and you can get some free UPMC merchandise for answering questions correctly.  You get to mix and mingle,  but chances are, you will never see those people again.  You get your fancy-schmancy UPMC photo badge, and you will hate it.. but you're stuck with it.  Don't lose it either, you'll have to pay $15 for a replacement.

From those larger meeting days, you'll go to your facility, be it a doctors office or hospital.  After a few days of facility specific meetings, you'll be shipped to your brand new department/area!  You'll slowly train with people who detest their jobs and you'll only learn half of what you actually need to.  I'm not sure about other departments, but I know that my supervisor/manager/higher-up person was pretty much a ghost.  You'll need to ask a question or want to clarify something, and you'll get a generalized answer that is as vague as your trainers, if you're lucky enough to get a reply at all.  The management is a whole other can of worms, but I'll get to that later.

Within a few weeks, your training will be deemed complete even though you will still have questions daily.  That's normal.  Your excitement will fade quickly as you fall into a humdrum monotony, a vicious repeating cycle.  You'll learn to cut corners to be more efficient, but it'll only make more work for you later.  

Gossip is rampant.  Do not get involved.  Keep to yourself.  Do not offer up any information that you wouldn't want your whole department knowing, because if you divulge personal information and it makes for good 'water-cooler talk', it'll quickly make it's rounds, evolving from an innocent statement to a rumor laden expletive. You think you'll be able to trust people, but as my title says... there's two sides to every coin, as well as company and its people.

I quickly mastered my position, and I quickly began to dread going to work. People will attempt to sabotage you just because they don't like the way you do things, or just don't like you in general.  You'll try to take your concerns to your supervisor, and they'll brush you off and advise you to work it out with your peer.  I did my job and I did it well.  I took more responsibilities, hours, and stress.  Once your 8, 10, 12 hours are up... you'll be sprinting out of the door.

Management, or lack thereof, was my absolute biggest issue.  They would always keep in contact via e-mail, but it was a rarity to see their faces or sit down and address concerns.  I was so disappointed in the management.  I felt like the didn't care about me and my coworkers.  I was another number.  I wanted to grow with the company, evolve my skills, and work my way up to a managerial role.  Unfortunately, due to mismanagement, I was not able to realize my full potential.  Everybody is out for themselves.  There is no camaraderie.  Somebody will be nice to your face on your way out, and you turn around to get something you forgot --- your name is already in their mouth and usually accompanied by a negative or derogatory comment.  I tried to defend at first, but quickly learned that's the way to get a target on your own back.  You may have two or three coworkers that you truly get along with, and if you're lucky, you may get a friend out of it.  

Turnover rates are extremely high.  There's always somebody new and it will always affect your work because you're too busy trying to do your job and assist the new person.  Those qualified to train will pass them off to those who are still fairly new themselves so they have less responsibility.  When this occurs, it's a domino effect, and the other departments screech to a halt because that well-oiled machine now has a broken screw or nut.  But, there's always one or two of those in each department.

UPMC will terminate/eliminate your position without batting an eye.  All of your dedication, hard work, and positive work ethic would all be for naught.  I watched too many friends lose their jobs because of restructuring or there's just not a need for that position.... and yet, they were short staffed to begin with!!  Luckily enough for me, I escaped before they could disrupt my life, but don't expect them to make it easy for you.  They'll try to keep your hard-earned PTO, they'll make you pay hundreds of dollars more if you want to keep your insurance, and trying to get a hold of HR is trying to find a needle in a haystack.

I know a few people that have had excellent experiences with UPMC, and it may be the employer for you.. but be warned, you'll be wearing a smile on your face and a metaphorical knife in your hand if you want to get anywhere.  To my facility, department, and management - thanks for teaching me that I'm worth so much more than what you paid me.  My sanity was not worth the mental angst and anguish I experienced.  I wish you all nothing but the best, but part of me hopes that you, too, will experience the pessimistic pain that is constantly being deceived and used.  

Best of luck to you, job searcher.  I sincerely hope you have a better experience than I had.

Cons
Base compensation is generally low relative to cost of living and workload expectations, especially for frontline staff, and does not always reflect the level of responsibility or volume of work required in day-to-day operations. Benefits are adequate but not more competitive than other large healthcare employers or employers more attuned to employee retention.   Management quality is highly variable and strongly dependent on department and leadership style. In many areas, there is a clear emphasis on efficiency, productivity, and cost control, often without proportional increases in staffing, support, or compensation — or consideration of their mission to serve as a nonprofit. This can result in ongoing scope expansion where additional responsibilities are gradually added without formal recognition or adjustment.  Work expectations can extend beyond scheduled hours, and there can be an explicit expectation of availability or willingness to stay late when operational needs arise. While flexibility is sometimes appreciated, it is not reciprocated, and an inability to consistently accommodate extended hours requirements or shifting demands will be interpreted negatively in informal performance perceptions. At the same time, these expectations are not applied consistently across team members, which can create uneven workload distribution.  There is also inconsistency in accountability. Employees who are reliable and willing to meet operational demands often absorb an increasing workload over time without reward or recognition, while performance issues among less engaged staff are not often addressed directly. This can create a dynamic where a smaller number of employees carry a disproportionate share of responsibility without corresponding recognition or relief—or if that fails, the patients suffer the consequences.   Although feedback mechanisms exist and employee input is formally requested, many staff become hesitant to provide candid operational critique due to concerns that it may not be well received or acted upon constructively, if at all. Over time, this can limit open discussion about workflow inefficiencies, safety concerns, staffing gaps, and morale issues, even when those issues are widely recognized at the frontline level and impact patient outcomes and UPMC’s adherence to its stated values.   From a systems perspective, cost containment and operational efficiency appear to be strong organizational priorities, which is understandable in a large healthcare system. However, in practice, these priorities contribute to downstream effects such as longer wait times for routine services, increased pressure on staff to absorb inefficiencies, and reduced patient access. As both a patient and employee, and someone in contact with patients experienced with multiple medical systems, I am aware of how delayed care can be with UPMC and its impact on not just patient satisfaction but health outcomes by reducing timely access to quality care.

Pros
Large, well-known healthcare system with a wide range of internal roles and potential mobility if you can put in the time. Employees can gain exposure to a high-volume, complex healthcare environment and develop experience across many specialties with the right mix of luck and guidance. Some teams and individual coworkers are dedicated and patient-focused despite broader organizational constraints that seem to work against centering the patient.

There was hardly ever a dull day when I worked at WPIC on the Merck floor, so if you want an environment where you will gain many stories that would gross out the average folk, this is the place for you. There is great camaraderie among the MTs, PCAs and SNAs and usually the nurses too, so that helps make it a manageable place to work day by day. 

As an MT you try to run therapeutic groups, but there are often patients of many different intellectual levels, so mainly we tried to keep everybody as entertained and safe as possible. It is a rewarding population to work with; when simple things like going a full day without a patient smearing feces on you or the wall is something to celebrate, your life view shifts. There are patients that are hilarious, adorable, endearing and terrifying. Many are there on that floor because they are aggressive, so you will definitely dodge some fists, get scratched, bit and maybe even a concussion. You were on camera 24/7 too, which could be helpful when an incident goes down, but could also be nerve racking in that you could not make a mistake in how you react when being attacked. (I feel like I can empathize and understand the dilemma for cops and body cams).

For an MT the pay was a bit below ok, but for PCAs and SNAs, who deal with all the same physical and emotional demands but just didn't run groups or have bachelor degrees, the pay was ridiculously low. They were the most under compensated and under appreciated by the management although the doctors and directors were usually pretty respectful. They were often a bit unrealistic about what was possible to do with patients on a day to day basis too, which was frustrating. The schedule was rough since the floor had to be staffed 24/7. Doing swing shifts, and never having any consistency in your work life is tough (especially at the low pay rate, we got half as much as nurses but yet were on the floor providing direct care the entire shift). They could be flexible and take class schedules into account, but sometimes it seems like the scheduler forgot certain days that were requested off. (I will admit scheduling must have been a nightmare though, I would not want that job). At least overtime was well compensated, but that leads to emotional burn out and staff often want to stay strong and not admit that they are feeling that. 

The staff are beautiful, strong people who risk life and limb because they are compassionate towards patients with low intellectual functioning and autism. Basically there should be a whole other set of rules, regulations, policies and pay system for the Merck unit at WPIC. Probably this is the case for each different population at WPIC. The extremes that exist between all the different populations in WPIC should be reflected in the policies and pay. UPMC is a huge, well off conglomerate that can afford to treat their mental health workers more than easily replaceable pawns. It would probably help the high turn over rate too which would benefit them in the long run too.

Typically busy every day and up on your feet moving. Lots of hand on experience with patients & med equipment. Culture with peers and therapists is great, feels like a community. Culture with the management, department heads is poor. There has always been lots of miscommunication or a lack of communication as a whole - does not seem as though everyone is on the same page. Onboarding process & orientation can be confusing as it is not well organized and you do not get the feel of your role well until you have been there for a while. The Presbyterian-Montefiore rehab department has a difficult time keeping full-time rehab aides as employees for the following reasons. You are either not doing enough work (beware of taking a break even when you have checked with everyone and there is not anything to do), or you are expected to do too much (independently see 12+ patients for a treatment & chart activities between both hospitals). Had difficulty with management and 'down time'. Anytime therapists did not require help, inventory was stocked, common rooms were cleaned it was frowned upon if we took a break. Repeatedly asked management for a running task list to turn to in this scenario to prevent this and we were never provided one in the entire 16 months I was employed. The department lost their secretary and pushed the responsibility of completing patient charges by hand and correcting them in the computer system if necessary onto rehab aides. This position does not get paid more for the extra work despite it taking +/- two hours of your day, nor do they ask you before they assign this task to you. This is not clearly advertised in any area of the job description, application, or orientation. There is one small line in the last bullet point of the job description that states employee will 'complete any department clerical work that needs to be done' for all roles including PT, and OT. This always felt like a way management could force you to do this type of work even though it is not the primary job you were hired for, or be able to legally ask someone to do this work if they lose the previous employee responsible for completing that task. Expect to work 5 days a week for 8 hours, they are not flexible with different shift times for aides but generally do okay approving PTO, vacations for rehab aides. In summary this is a great job if you are looking to get hands on patient care experience for a short amount of time such as a gap year. Your peers including the therapists can become close friends which really makes it feel like a community. It is not something you can do long term because it is physically demanding the management is so hard to work with. 

On a typical work day (while I was still employed here):
I've experienced several unpleasant occurrences. To make this short; it was too much work. I can handle a lot of hard work normally, but having to cover the other two shifts' work everyday, just because they've managed to slack off daily, is not a fair deal. If there have been call-offs, then that's understandable, but I don't like being pulled off of my assigned schedule everyday to do someone else's work, especially while they're right there, unoccupied.
What I've learned:
I've witnessed enough hostility and discrimination here to the point that I've adapted to it; I can endure it much more effectively than I used to. It still bothers me from time to time, but that's going to happen everywhere. I just needed a change-- a new job, in a different place.
Management: In short, the management was fine. There was a bit of sloppiness when it came to arranging the shift's schedules (changes from call-offs, no-shows, tardiness, etc.) This often resulted in scattered assignments; workers in the department would unexpectedly get pulled off of their assignments, several times a day, to do something that someone absent was originally scheduled to do. When a housekeeper couldn't finish three shifts worth of work, it often resulted in a reprimand, write-up, and/or a poor work performance review.
Co-workers: I haven't had any problems with my co-workers within my department. The only troubles I've had were with a few people working in the other departments. An example would be the nurses or doctors throwing trash and bio-hazard tools (sharps, used syringe, contaminated debris) into the linen bags, or regular trash can instead of the bio-hazard (red) trash can. A few housekeepers often got stuck with these needles through the bags while pulling the trash. The ridiculous part about it, that I can recall, was when a housekeeper was asked by one of the supervisors to draw a picture of the needle...
Hardest part of the job: There were several, but the worst part, in my opinion, would be the problems of having to deal with the occasional rude, disrespectful staff and visitors, along with the backed up work from the previous shifts, or being short-staffed from absences or too many people being given vacation days within the same week.
Most enjoyable part of the job: Unfortunately, I've found no enjoyment from working at UPMC. The two-and-a-half years I've spent there felt like a punishment than a job; none of the hard work and effort was appreciated or acknowledged enough.

This was my honest review, nothing personal, nor intended for sabotaging.

UPMC Seneca place was the place where my love for caring for people and nursing was first established through their CNA training program offered in-house on site training hours and being able to provide on-site care in clinical hours also provided training and certification  to administer CPR. I learned about ADLs & documeting. I personally enjoyed learning how to manually take blood pressures and vital signs it gave me an opportunity to get to know the patients a little bit before becoming completely Certified. I absolutely love being a nursing assistant and being able to give back to others and such a compassionate and caring way. My patients became family and share their life experiences with me and gave me some of the best life advice I could have ever gotten from anyone else in the world. Mommy I would take my lunch break and go into a patient's room and enjoy that time with her off the clock just enjoying her company sharing a laugh hearing about her day that taught me what true compassion and friendship are. Unfortunately through the years I became more and more experienced working with hospice patients ages 28 to 102 and with my love of my patience what kept me going I had to say goodbye far too many times than anyone should ever want to it never got easier every time I lost the patient my heart broke just a little more I would clean them up and get them ready for their family but I would take extra time I always would do something extra like put on a CD that would sit Dusty in the corner that a family member would have sent when the patient was first brought to the facility for comfort and yet never being put in the CD player or played I always was the one to do those little reminders of comfort or giving my patients reminders of who they were looking through their photo albums playing CDs their loved ones would leave them dancing laughing making jokes putting lipstick on my little Ladies who find peace and still being able to put makeup on at such a late stage in their life considering all circumstances still being able to feel beautiful in spite of terminal illness and severe chronic pain. I will always continue doing what I do regardless of those hard moments of saying goodbye to my patients but I believe in my heart and soul that this career is my purpose in life and though it's hard and full of grief I'm honored that I am blessed with the opportunity to have cared and will continue to care for such amazing people you have lived extraordinary lives until the end 


I understand that a lot of people complain about jobs they have left. However, I have enjoyed all but 2 of my previous jobs very much.

When I started at this job last year, it was my first Medical Assistant position. I had a lot of "free reign" essentially, being responsible for inventory, ordering supplies, rooming patients for 2-3 doctors simultaneously, working 11 hours per day with no work-life balance. I was appreciated and praised for my good work during the first year with no training or oversight.

During the second year, I was told that my tremendous performance would earn a promotion which never happened. During the Coronavirus pandemic, free grant money was approved for all employees making less than $20/hour which UPMC refused to submit and, as I heard happened in the past, they apparently never do. UPMC refuses your opportunity to work overtime and does not allow you to find secondary employment. When I began college classes I was still working a full time job at a daylight Doctor's office. Because of the increasingly toxic work environment, I tried to transfer for any position that was available including a transporter. I was told that I could only move from my full time daylight position to a part-time schedule at the 24/7 hospital because my schedule would be too busy as a student. Management constantly told me I had to claim a lunch break even if all of my medical staff co-workers were off sick. I was never praised for working harder when we became short staffed, having my only 2 coworkers missing 4 of the past 6 weeks. It became a message of "being short staffed is not an excuse to get behind on everything we would expect to be complete at normal capacity." Their priorities shifted from answering patient messages promptly to calling every single person on the schedule to ask about the coronavirus pandemic which had been going on for the past 8 months in America alone. They did not allow you to use any discretion to complete or prioritize your work. Finally, I had put my 2-week notice in to leave the position and was promptly fired the next day. The office I worked for constantly did shady and illegal practices. I would only recommend UPMC to my worst enemies.

Overall, this company has a horrendous work-life balance, does not respect its employees, and your income will be capped by UPMC without being presented an opportunity for growth.

As far as compensation and benefits, it's almost impossible to beat UPMC. However, those benefits come at a high personal cost.

While most of the lower-level employees are great to work with and the work experience with the patients is very rewarding, poor management makes for a toxic environment.

There are a few fantastic managers, but unfortunately they either don't stay with the company for long or are not permitted to hold management positions for very long. The prevailing management philosophy is flawed and could not be farther from the "dignity and respect" campaign that is supposedly held in such high regard.

If you're a salaried employee, be prepared to be worked like a dog. The expectation is that UPMC comes first, family comes second, and good luck with anything else. 50 hour and even 60 hour weeks are not unheard of and in some departments there's an expectation that even when you work a M-F job, you'll be there on the weekends as well. Also, it's not uncommon to be wholly trained by lower-level employees. In my tenure with the company, I've only been trained by one manager. In some cases, the manager is not at all familiar with the computer applications and job functions that keep the department afloat - that responsibility falls to the lower-level employees. Needless to say this causes a lot of difficulty when it comes to efficiency and productivity and leaves the door open for misunderstandings and mistakes.

As for dignity and respect, they're little more than buzzwords at UPMC and not the culture. I've seen employees pressured for personal information unrelated to work, I've seen managers divulge private information regarding health or personal matters without the employee's consent. Worst of all, I've seen employees under financial hardship shamed by name at meetings for not making monetary donations to certain fundraising campaigns. I've worked for several departments and these issues are present almost universally across the board from the lowest level of management to some of the highest levels of management. It's not an isolated issue, it's a problem with the overall management culture.

The bottom line is this:  If your top priorities are compensation and benefits, you can't beat UPMC. If a positive and supportive work environment where you feel that your contributions are valued and a good work/life balance are key to your employment search, look elsewhere.

I worked with UPMC for a few years as a health care concierge. The training is just enough to get you ready to take calls in the call center and then it is essentially trial by fire. The employees are nice enough and they really try to push the "we're a family" sentiment. Lots of unnecessary emails are sent and whenever there's a change in the department everyone becomes a "yes man (or woman)" and accepts the new policy and changes without contest. Sometimes these changes will effect the employees incentives for bonus payout. At first the work does not seem so bad, in the spring and summer months it is more relaxed. Between September and March it is a lot of overtime, 9+ hour days with some weekend work and constant emails asking people to work Saturdays and Sundays. The clientele that call in are often rude and harsh towards the concierges which makes the job difficult. Your hold time, break time, lunch time, not ready time, clock in and clock out are all tracked down to the second. Every second of your day is tracked in the call center program so if you don't do well with micromanaging this may not be the position for you. Similarly, if you are an anxious person or if you don't handle criticism well, I would not recommend this job. Management does their best to support the employees but everything is constantly moving a mile a minute and things/people will get overlooked. Not very organized and more emphasis is put on your stats and what the company wants as opposed to how well you are actually doing your job and servicing the customers. I worked with insurance and the benefits are not the greatest either. There are often issues with the UPMC providers and decisions that are made from higher ups in the company that don't seem based in the care for the ground level employee or the patients. Medication coverages will change throughout the year, providers forget to submit information or check on coverage for services resulting in the patients fronting the cost of medical procedures. Overall, the job itself can be done, but if you are someone who looks to fully complete tasks wants to feel like the work they do is having a positive impact, or wants some semblance of control over your position and work, at the very least this is not the position to apply for.

As a Director in IT, I had 6 teams reporting to me with approximately 50 FTEs.  I had great relationships with all of my direct reports and their staff members.  I encouraged training and enhancing their skill sets to continue advancing in their careers.  My staff members were very loyal to me, and I was fully up to date and engaged in all of their duties all the while giving them the space they needed to run their individual areas.  I am a strong believer in premium customer service and this was represented throughout my department.  I attended several daily meetings with every job level from managers (and their staff) all the way up through Senior Executive Management, including the CFO of UPMC.  

I was deeply involved in cost savings efforts and took the initiative to start projects to improve current processes in place as well as bring new ideas to the table.  I had very good relationships with my peers and still do to this day.  I was often given challenged and failing projects at UPMC to rebuild and turn into successful and rewarding programs for the UPMC enterprise.  I thoroughly enjoyed the project management work in which me and my teams could observe current situations, analyze data, revise processes and put our hard work into action to see them become valuable and useful assets.

I learned so much in my 17+ years at UPMC.  I worked every position from Operator to Operations Engineer to Project Manager all the way up to Director.  I take great pride in my work and strive to achieve my goals so I can truly feel accomplished with the work I've completed each and every day.  I have a strong work ethic, and I am aggressive with any task given to me.  I had a wonderful mentor (my Direct VP) that taught me so key skills in management.  I honor what I have learned today and apply them to my everyday life.  I am extremely loyal and work hard for what I believe in, even if challenge and need to prove my standing on a situation.  At the same time, I am very reasonable and can listen to my coworker's point of view and look for common ground.

The most enjoyable part of my job is seeing my managers and their staff happy in their jobs and proud of the work they do and getting recognized for it.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Registered nurse 62 salaries reported	$40.15 per hour
Patient care technician 21 salaries reported	$18.89 per hour
Systems analyst 12 salaries reported	$75,000 per year
Physician assistant 6 salaries reported	$106,167 per year
Software engineer 10 salaries reported	$89,400 per year

Working at UPMC: Company Overview and Reviews

UPMC

UPMC Ratings

Popular jobs at UPMC

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected