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      CERN

      Engaged Employer

      CERN reviews

      4.4

      91% would recommend to a friend

      (855 total reviews)
      avatar

      Fabiola Gianotti

      91% approve of CEO

      59% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      4.5

      Culture & values

      4.5

      Diversity & inclusion

      4.4

      Work/Life balance

      4.3

      Compensation and benefits

      3.9

      Senior management

      3.7

      Career opportunities

      CERN has an employee rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 855 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The CERN employee rating is 21% above average for employers within the Regierung & öffentliche Verwaltung industry (3.6 stars).

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Reviews by job title

      855 reviews
      2.0
      Nov 11, 2017

      Mixed feelings

      Software engineer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Incredible environment. Excellent salaries and health insurance. Additionally, it's like working in the heart of Europe.

      Cons

      Permanent contract could arrive, basically based on a lottery (quota, luck, and finally merit), only after 8 years! E.g. After having been a technical student, a fellow, then a staff for 5 years and then a second time staff for three years (for a total of 11 years serving), my group wasn't able to open a permanent position for me, and I was therefore forced to leave.

      2.0
      Nov 9, 2015

      Mediocracy

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Many intelligent and interesting people. The salaries are quite high in comparison with Europe but quite low in comparison with Switzerland. You can work as much as you wish.

      Cons

      Bureaucracy and laziness. People are coming to work at 9.30 and leaving at 16.30 while going for 2-3 coffee breaks during the day. It does not really offer career opportunities to its employees.

      1.0
      Oct 23, 2016

      Very low moral and ethical standards

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      It pays well, but Geneva is expensive.

      Cons

      Management is driven by political rather than scientific motives. Many collaborators are willing to sacrifice scientific accuracy and correctness, in whole or in part, in order to meet their next job application deadline. Service work is not appreciated or rewarded, even if it concerns work that is absolutely crucial for the correct functioning of the experiment. Permanent positions are often not awarded to the best and most talented candidates, who are then forced to leave the field of physics, thus leaving huge gaps in skills and knowledge at the experiments. Last but not least, some collaborators even do not hesitate to deliberately violate one's human rights and dignity, and endanger one's personal safety.

      avatar
      CERN Response
      9y
      We are genuinely saddened that you have left CERN with such a negative experience. We are shocked by what we read as Respect is a core foundation to what CERN is. Be assured that we strive to ensure people are supported and heard and it is unfortunate for us that we learn of this now. Services and support structures exist but still depend on timely information for us to be able to react and intervene, in all confidentiality. Thank you for your honest, and helpful feedback.
      Viewing 4 - 6 of 855 Reviews
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      ReviewsCERN reviews

      Glassdoor has 1,748 CERN reviews submitted anonymously by CERN employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if CERN is right for you.