Avantages
- Access to world-class biomedical research, with sister institutions Weill Cornell and Memorial Sloan Kettering right next door - Really good benefits, especially health insurance linked with Weill Cornell medical offices. A number of campus perks, including therapists, gym, workout classes, tennis court, physical therapy, and a lounge that serves cheap drinks - Most federal holidays observed, including the entire week off between Christmas and New Year’s, plus decent number of vacation days - Beautiful riverside campus
Inconvénients
- People’s individual experiences will depend highly on their department or lab. What I will say from my experience personally is that there’s really no system in place for dealing with problematic colleagues or toxic work environments. HR is toothless in these situations. Any resolution is almost solely up to the discretion of heads of lab, i.e. tenured professors who are practically untouchable and difficult to hold accountable. - Campus is far from most public transit - Faculty are extremely homogenous - No retirement benefits until 2 years of employment - The institution paid a hefty settlement for events from decades ago (see “Controversy” section on Wikipedia page). The controversy is horrible in and of itself, and due to the settlement, the university has tightened the purse strings, including for annual pay raises. - Not an actual con, per se, but it’s more of a research institute than a “university”. Yes, they do graduate PhD students (~40 a year), but there’s very little formal education or pedagogy offered at this institution. Students typically take classes at other institutions like Cornell and do not have to work as TA’s, as there are no undergraduate students. The university recently lost its accreditation from New York State and had to get accredited by a regional body.