Does United Nations pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, United Nations employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at United Nations. This rating has decreased by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at United Nations?

77% of United Nations employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated United Nations 3.9 out of 5 for work life balance, 4.0 for culture and values and 3.5 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at United Nations?

Intern (398) , Consultant (142) , Internship (130) , Administrative Assistant (59) , Project Manager (46) , Research Assistant (30) , Officer (23) , Political Affairs Officer (23) , Political Affairs Intern (19) , Security Officer (18) , Team Assistant (18) , Director (16) , Economic Affairs Officer (16) , Analyst (15) , Finance Assistant (15)

What are the pros of working at United Nations according to real employee reviews?

"stable happy versatile good benefit" ((in 183 reviews)); "The people are great and passionate about what they do" ((in 161 reviews)); "a good salary and traveling by plane" ((in 146 reviews)); "Great for CV and great colleagues" ((in 144 reviews)); "Good work environment for beginners" ((in 85 reviews))

What are the cons of working at United Nations according to real employee reviews?

"The internship is unpaid and probably with rooms of improvement regarding the plan for career guidance" ((in 107 reviews)); "Management is poor" ((in 53 reviews)); "These are universally applied across the board and direct managers have no power to override them." ((in 25 reviews)); "Too much bureaucracy and almost impossible to get promoted.It is hard to do things differently due to the bureaucratic nature of the organization." ((in 22 reviews)); "Long hours and a lot of work" ((in 19 reviews))

What are employees saying about United Nations layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about United Nations layoffs and their outlook for job security at United Nations in 2026.

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United Nations

United Nations reviews

4.0

77% would recommend to a friend

(2,241 total reviews)

António Guterres

74% approve of CEO

57% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.2

Diversity & inclusion

4.0

Culture & values

3.9

Work/Life balance

3.9

Compensation and benefits

3.6

Senior management

3.5

Career opportunities

United Nations has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 2,241 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The United Nations employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Regierung & öffentliche Verwaltung industry (3.6 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

4.0

Apr 26, 2013

High pay

It consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The pay is fairly high for people who recently received their BA degrees, the starting salary is ca. $4,000 per month (G-3) excluding paid leave. Paid leave accrues at a rate of 2.5 days per month and can be cashed in (I cashed in my paid leave when I resigned).

Cons

Salary progression is quite difficult, raises barely keep up with cost of living (remember, Manhattan has the highest cost of living in the USA). In addition, there is not much transparency in the job application process (difficult to find HR contact information). If you want to make 100K per year after 5 years, you most likely won't have that opportunity with the UN.

2.0

May 5, 2010

Finance Assistant, United Nations

Finance assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits, benefits, benefits -- as in 6 weeks vacation, full pension, great health insurance. There is much prestige that comes with working for this organization.

Cons

The stratification of staff is rigid and unforgiving. There are two main categories for staff, assigned upon entry and based on how you apply: General Service/Local Staff and Professional/International Staff. General Service (GS) are assistants and lower level technical staff. DO NOT CONSIDER THIS TO BE A GOOD ENTREE INTO THIS ORGANIZATION if you aspire to be more than a top level assistant. In otherwords, if you aspire to be a Programme Officer, you will not achieve this by entering as an assistant. You must enter as a "P" staff to have a career.

3.0

Feb 3, 2009

The United Nations -- Amazing and Amazingly Frustrating

Humanitarian affairs officer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It is deeply satisfying to know that the core purpose of your work is to make the world a better place. Working alongside colleagues from every corner of the earth, many with exceptional credentials and talents, is stimulating and fulfilling. The compensation, compared to non-governmental organizations, is quite generous.

Cons

There is a tremendous amount of nepotism. One learns the true definition of bureaucracy whilst working there. There is a great deal of technological ineptitude that needs to be desperately addressed. Last, spending significant percentages of donors' grants (in terms of cost per work-hour) preparing reports for the very same donors to show them how efficiently their money is being spent is infuriating.

Viewing 79 - 81 of 2,241 Reviews

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Jobs at United Nations

Human Resources Assistant - temporary, G6

Wien

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Human Resources Assistant (temporary), G6

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INTERN – Data, Analytics and Statistics Section

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Public Information Intern (Outreach)

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Consultant on Gender and Anti-Corruption Investigations

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