University of Birmingham Reviews

Pros

Lovely campus, Great facilities, great university

Cons

I can't think of any downsides

Pros

friendly people all around, responsive admin

Cons

can't think of any at the moment

Pros

- great pay -flexible hours Understanding of student commitments

Cons

-15 hour max limit during term time

Pros

Highly professional and supportive colleagues Good salary Progression

Cons

- management could be more supportive to staff’s mental health

Pros

A truly global and cosmopolitan campus culture

Cons

Lack of prestige in comparison to other red brick UK unis

Pros

Pays well and not managed too directly

Cons

Administration is slow within the university and it can take a while to get the contract/pay information.

Pros

Some really great colleagues, especially in the admin staff. Among academic staff, everyone is in for his own -no colleagiality whatsoever.

Cons

Lots of backstabbing and outdated processes. Management seems to work on outdated assumptions, rumors, and the idea that employees are fungible assets. For example, when I got an offer from another place and asked Birmingham for a counteroffer, the salary of the counteroffer was computed under the "assumption" that I had bought a house in the area and would need to sell it.

Pros

Decent pay, acceptable cost of living

Cons

Lots of bureaucracy, equipment and buildings could be better

Pros

The senior management team of the Business School is great. There is a vision around sustainability, equality, diversity and inclusion. The new strategy around smaller MSc programmes will improve the value that students receive from their education. The general atmosphere in the business school is supportive and collegial.

Cons

Increasing workload for academic staff. Administrative burden for lecturers is continuously increasing and support from the professional services teams is declining. Low quality of administrative support is leading to even higher workload as academics have to constantly double check and follow up with professional services. Processes for processes sake. There is a new form to fill in and a new process to follow almost every week. Unfortunately, the main point - providing high quality education and research - can get lost together with common sense. In addition to these general issues during the Corona crisis it felt that academics were not supported and workloads were increased over night. This is unlikely to be temporary.

Pros

Fun and engaging place to work

Cons

payment takes a long time to come through