Research Assistant at Rockefeller University - Anonymous employee Rockefeller University Employee Review

Competitive Salary: Pay rates ($24–$25/hr) are above the NYC average for environmental services.Excellent Benefits: Comprehensive health insurance, generous paid time off, and strong retirement matching.Prestigious Institution: Clean, safe, and highly respected Ivy-league level research campus environment.Job Stability: Stable full-time hours with reliable bi-weekly pay schedules and low turnover.Community Respect: Friendly interactions with world-class scientists, researchers, and students.

igh Cost of Living: Manhattan location means commuting is long and expensive if you cannot afford NYC rent.Physically Demanding: Requires standing, lifting, and repetitive manual labor for the entire 8-hour shift.Strict Lab Standards: Cleaning bio-research labs requires strict adherence to safety protocols and extra caution.Limited Career Growth: Few opportunities to move up into higher-paying administrative roles from cleaning.Weekend/Shift Work: Some roles require early morning, late night, or weekend rotations.

Top notch science and people. Labs are well funded. Best salary and benefits you'll ever find as a PhD student (salary/housing, fitness classes, etc). Nice campus, a little oasis in NYC. Lots of independence. A small and friendly community. Culture of work-life balance in many labs.

Some perks have been cut recently. Lack of name recognition outside biology compared to comparable research institutions like Harvard, Columbia (biologists all know RU is on the same level, but non-biologists don't). We only do biology so there's not as much access to compsci, math, etc.