University of Cambridge Employee Reviews

I interned here a while back and had a great time with the team. They do really interesting research, have a great location, and they are highly motivated people!

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Boring and intense

PhD student (Former Employee) - Cambridge, Cambridgeshire - 19 May 2022

It can be nice to work in an environment filled with incredibly intelligent people, but most of them tend to be pretty boring, cold, opinionated and intense! People only talk about their work like 99% of the time, even at social events, they seem to have difficulty switching off (or talking about normal everyday subjects). There's also a constant peer pressure to appear 'intelligent' making most newcomers start to conform over time to almost all become cynical 'know-it-alls'.

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Insights into University of Cambridge

Based on 23 survey responses

What people like

Supportive environment
Feeling of personal appreciation
Time and location flexibility

High workload and repetitive

Junior Animal Technician (Current Employee) - South Cambridge - 29 March 2022

Working hours are OK, overtime is well compensated and arranged with good notice. Workload is very repetitive and not very engaging. Lots of micromanaging and little opportunity to progress and take on new responsibilities.

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Love it here

Temporary Receptionist (Current Employee) - Cambridge - 2 December 2021

Love working here, did take a couple weeks to get a computer log in but the people are lovely, the hourly rate is great and it’s a place where people stay. I work with a colleague that’s worked for Cambridge university for 20 years

Pros

Lovely colleagues & good pay

Cons

Bit boring job

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Employment Law is a Joke

Accounts and Procurement (Former Employee) - CRUK - 1 November 2021

I worked for UC previously on a fixed-term contract and had a positive experience. The atmosphere was professional, the responsibilities are varied and matched my qualifications and education at that time. However, when it was over I was unable to find a next role with any of the departments. They replied to me saying that have 'better people', 'more qualified'. After some time, I was offered a position with one of the departments as an assistant of someone whose qualifications are well below then mine and with no previous experience. The role was mundane and management idiotic. The manager would often call me on the last minute of the last working hour and start a discussion. No overtime rate was offered.

Pros

Petty cash.

Cons

Poor pay and job security, poor management.

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Academic

Office Manager (Former Employee) - Cambridge, Cambridgeshire - 21 April 2020

It's a typical academic workplace – average salary but good benefits, educated colleagues, generally relaxed workplace but moments of more stressful work.

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Soul destroying

Graduate Administratorfor (Former Employee) - Cambridge Biomedical Campus - 15 March 2020

Awful culture. Thankless. People unfriendly and cold. Only work as Assistant staff if you have little or no self esteem or are a yes sayer. Only academics count.

Pros

Pay

Cons

Everything else

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Friendly and enthusiastic culture.

Divisional Secretary (Former Employee) - Cambridge - 11 March 2020

Good benefits, interesting work, enthusiastic and happy environment. Facilities usually good. Parking is seriously limited at the CUH/Addenbrooke's site.

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Un posto che offre molto

Research Associate (Former Employee) - Cambridge - 3 February 2020

....ma devi essere molto proactive per accedere a tutto quello che l'universita' ti offre.

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Good company

Administrative Assistant Volunteer Recruitment (Former Employee) - Addenbrookes - 10 January 2020

Large office Management was not consistent in what they said Workplace culture varied from office to office Typical day was spent sending Emails with some phone calls Most enjoyable part of job was talking to volunteers by phone

Pros

On-site gym. Free pension contributions after qualifying time

Cons

Management was not good. Job Description was misleading to role

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Jobs at University of Cambridge

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Intense but rewarding

Supervisor, History and Philosophy of Science (Former Employee) - Cambridge - 18 December 2019

Supervision responsibilites vary depending on the course. Teaching is rewarding but marking can become overwhelming if too many courses are taken on. The academic workplace is supportive and friendly, but supervisors are expected to be more independent than at some other universities. This may be seen as a pro or a con depending on one's experience in the field.

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Great environment, great to work for them

IT Technician (Former Employee) - Cambridge, Cambridgeshire - 26 November 2019

It’s very relaxed but jobs are being done precisely and on time. Staff and students are very friendly. Salary is different depending on your department and group you are working at.

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Interesting, fun place to work

Senior Laboratory Technician (Former Employee) - Cambridge - 11 November 2019

Fun and interesting with lots of people to talk to. They were fairly well organised ad maybe even a bit underworked at times. MOst people were friendly and spoke to you about their work which was always very interesting.

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Great place to work

Various Assistant Staff Roles (Former Employee) - Cambridge - 7 November 2019

see previous University of Cambridge reviews - nice place to work, great environment to learn life long skills, attend loads of courses and training opportunities, very friendly people.

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Productivity

Accountant (Current Employee) - Cambridge, Cambridgeshire - 28 October 2019

Great place to work for, but less pay for some. Management is excellent Teamwork Multicultural Great opportunity for young peoples Flexibility of working hour Great holiday package

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Great place to work

Research Associate (Former Employee) - Cambridge - 11 September 2019

Great place to work with high work culture. Highly recommended as an Employer. Friendly environment, very good support in any aspect of work. Very good organised.

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Fun workplace

Play Worker (Current Employee) - St. Mary's - 10 August 2019

Child protection training FREE First-Aid training Food and Hygiene training Fun and enjoyable workplace Meeting new people Being able to learn new activities Going on trips

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Productive

Part time Housekeeping Assistant Downing College (Current Employee) - Cambridge - 10 July 2019

Nice place to work good job, teamwork, pretty support from the employer. Very good work, attention to detail, and you are required to follow the cleaning standards of the University of Cambridge.

Pros

good package of benefits

Cons

some Saturdays it is necessary to work in conferences

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Great research environment

Research Associate (Current Employee) - Cambridge - 3 July 2019

Great collaborative and multidisciplinary research environment with flexible working hours and housing benefits, but low salary and unpredictable career advancement.

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Indecisive time wasters

Administrative Jesus College (Former Employee) - Cambridge - 2 April 2019

Indecisive time wasters that don’t have a clear vision of what they want, their limitations and the rubbish IT systems. They pretend to be effective but are ineffective and very poor employers. I would not consider ever working for them again as they are the worst employers I have had and are totally out of touch with reality.

Pros

Free Lunches

Cons

Delusional management

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Work with the smartest people in the world

Researcher; Key account manager (Current Employee) - University of Cambridge - 4 March 2019

Unless you happen to be the number 1 researcher in your field and can get an academic position, there are basically zero career progression options. The salaries have to be comparable to other UK institutions (ie, not terrible but fairly modest compared to equivalent jobs working in industry), yet thanks to the well paying companies in the city the cost of living in Cambridge is very high - so actual disposable income is therefore relatively low. Academics (ie, lecturers and above) are treated like royalty (perhaps deservedly), while everyone else is effectively a second class citizen (generally undeservedly), almost like a caste system. Short term (1-2 year) contracts are the norm for all types of position except academics (who are wheeled out when they die), which means there is quite a high churn. Generally speaking people don't have trouble finding the next contract after their allotted 2 year stint, but it places an unhelpful level of stress towards the end - and naturally makes people look for (and often find) pastures new. Pre-reading for your interview should include the latest editions of The Economist and The Guardian.

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