Working at Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA: 5 Employee Job Reviews by Real Employee working in La Jolla, CA Area

"Great research institute to meet many talented people and have many opportunities for collaborations. I was a graduate student there and then became a postdoc after finish my Ph.D. For postdoc, they paid as NIH minimum requirement for researcher, but with good benefits. The different lab has different working style. The one I was in allowed me to work with flexibility."

"I had been working for the Salk Institute for almost two years. Nice supervisor and co-workers."

"I've worked at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies since 2009. It is a non-profit biomedical research institute. The institute provides a state-of-the-art environment and tools for the most advanced research."

"Beautiful sunset, free exercise classes. Yet, such a scandalous environment, far from academia. Mafia-like management. Complete exploitation of postdocs under the label of "training". Especially foreigners bound by their visa restrictions and "at will" contract are taken advantage of. You'll be treated like a labor with no respect and disposed once they are done with you. You'll be under constant pressure to recruit funding. The PI will be the official applicant most of the time, hence you won't be given any credit as a ghost author. You're bound by whatever your PI says despite you take care of everything, from recruiting funding to producing and testing ideas. You've found out your colleagues are doing your project generated by no other than you? You're meanwhile forced to do the tasks your PI is supposed to do? You think you aren't given the proper credit? You have to either bear with it or leave. You won't find any help from the institute. Instead, you'll be treated like a traitor the moment you seek help. None of the offices and committees are trustworthy. They are only there to comply with the legal and academic requirements. They just function to identify potential "troublemaker" postdocs by pretending they are there to help. All they do is to find a strategy to cover up or neutralize the issues you bring up instead of solving them. Don't be surprised if one day you're fired by a phony excuse. Because you are under "at will" contract in California. Per Salk Policy, you'll be immediately escorted out before having a chance to make any personal and professional arrangements. You'll be disposed by your car, not allowed to come back ever; your email access will be instantly blocked and you will receive your personal items by mail. You wanted to start your own lab? Good luck with that; now you only have your car keys with you after all the years of work you have done. Don't join Salk. You'll be used like a milking cow. Period."

"A rewarding and fast-paced environment with good support infrastructure"

What do you like about working at Salk Institute for Biological Studies?

"The Salk Institute was a great collaborative environment in which there was a strong support structure and freedom to learn and tackle problems both independently and in groups. The labs in which I was working was very accommodating and supportive. They were also responsive to requests for advice and assistance and were always approachable."

Do you have any tips for others interviewing with this company?

"Be prepared to be flexible and communicate your successes and failures in a timely manner without reservation. Be willing to express your opinions and ask for help when necessary."

What don't you like about working at Salk Institute for Biological Studies?

"The labs in which I worked were more wet lab oriented and I did not have other colleagues with computational/analytical background with whom I could work and from whom I could learn."

What suggestions do you have for management?

"I did not have enough recurring interaction with the mentors in both labs to maintain communication about the progress of projects or the expectations they had."