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      CERN

      Engaged Employer

      CERN reviews

      4.3

      91% would recommend to a friend

      (856 total reviews)
      avatar

      Fabiola Gianotti

      91% approve of CEO

      59% positive business outlook

      Ratings by demographic groups

      CERN has an employee rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 856 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The CERN employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Regierung & öffentliche Verwaltung industry (3.6 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      856 reviews
      2.0
      Feb 1, 2019

      An old institution that could do with modernising

      Fellow
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      The culture at CERN is pretty terrific, the people here take their work very seriously, with real curiosity and passion. It really is cool to be working on the frontier of physics. Collaboration is important here.

      Cons

      Unfortunately the age of CERN means a lot of the technology is what could charitably be classed as "legacy". You could end up working on software that should've went away with the Aztecs. As a software engineer I've often found myself in a development silo, which is to say I've been given a project and expected to go away and just do it; without much in the way of feedback. If you like working by yourself, that should be fine, but if you want experience of team-based development then you may not find it here. I describe CERN as an old institution in terms of age, but unfortunately it can be rather regressive as well. I've witnessed colleagues being blatantly sexist and transphobic. I would hope that an institution on the cutting edge of physics research would be more progressive.

      avatar
      CERN Response
      7y
      Thank you for your feedback. Collaboration, passion and curiosity are indeed key drivers for CERN. With regards to the 'Cons' of your review, as a large, multicultural, multidisciplinary organization, CERN values such feedback to continuously provide the most optimal working environment for all collaborators. Diversity is a richness for CERN, and is one of the Organization's five core values: a diversity policy and a Diversity Office are in place since 2012. The Diversity Office leads various activities such as seminars or events, to raise awareness among the CERN population on diversity-related matters – in 2018, CERN hosted more than 20 events on such topics. Furthermore, CERN’s HR department is very sensitive to developing its policies and practices so that they shall include each and every (prospective) member of personnel working at CERN. Should you wish to report your experience, we have various support structures at CERN that will welcome you with the utmost confidentiality, details of which you will find on the cern.ch/hr/wwfw pages.
      5.0
      Jan 6, 2019

      Full Stack Developer

      Full stack developer
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Amazing people, amazing place. Very interesting job. Merit based system.

      Cons

      Internal politics can be hindering.

      5.0
      May 17, 2018

      Summer Student

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Exposure to immense knowledge, experiments and technology; scientific community of scientists,researchers, professors, fellows and even, nobel laureates; brilliant place to live in; highly international; fair pay and growth opportunities; health insurance and family allowance; center of europe.

      Cons

      work is a always a priority and you might need to work extra shifts to complete it; work-life balance is not equal

      Viewing 154 - 156 of 856 Reviews
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      ReviewsCERN reviews

      Glassdoor has 1,754 CERN reviews submitted anonymously by CERN employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if CERN is right for you.