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    University of Leicester Researcher Reviews

    Updated 27 April 2018
    13 reviews

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    Researcher
    4.0
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    University of Leicester Chancellor Lord Grocott
    Lord Grocott
    2 Ratings

    Employee Reviews

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    Pros

    • "Flexible working hours, work when you want, get to meet lots of great people and the chance to develop communication skills" (in 9 reviews)

    • "Provides excellent training, a considerate working environment that provides equal opportunities for all" (in 10 reviews)

    Cons

    • "There needs to be more opportunities for career progression of junoir staff members (such as myself) and a more rigourous mentoring system" (in 5 reviews)

    • "Senior management team is exceptionally poor" (in 4 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. "Research Assistant"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Research Assistant in Leicester, England
      Former Employee - Research Assistant in Leicester, England
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at University of Leicester part-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Friendly University with plenty of scope for career advancement and pursuing personal research interests.

      Cons

      Busy University environment and lots of administration

      Advice to Management

      -

    2. "Decent Post-doctoral Research Post"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Postdoctoral Research Associate in Leicester, England
      Current Employee - Postdoctoral Research Associate in Leicester, England
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at University of Leicester full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Supportive academic environment, if you have a good supervisor is a good research position for a post-doc.

      Cons

      Leciester city location is relatively remote and working class. Cheap living costs but not a great location for active young people or families. Local medical care is particularly sub-class.

    3. "Ambitious but lack independent"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Research Associate in Leicester, England
      Former Employee - Research Associate in Leicester, England
      Recommends

      I worked at University of Leicester (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Ambitious department. Opportunities to work on high profile projects and gain good publications.

      Cons

      Department was ran like a dictatorship, with micro management and a lack of responsibility / autonomy given to experienced members of staff. Reliance on approval from the head of department slowed down rate of progress.

    4. "Researcher"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Researcher and Web Developer in Birmingham, England
      Former Employee - Researcher and Web Developer in Birmingham, England
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at University of Leicester (More than a year)

      Pros

      Friendly and professional staff. Excellent scientific environment.

      Cons

      None, except awkward PC/desktop policy.

    5. "Research Assistant"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Former Employee - Research Assistant
      Former Employee - Research Assistant

      I worked at University of Leicester full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Excellent inter department atmosphere
      Access to a wide range of career support.
      Willingness of senior staff to push me to apply previous experience & skill-sets that I'd brought to the job

      Cons

      The office space was often rather cramped
      Thieves target the bike storage areas

      University of Leicester Response

      3 Oct 2016 – Recruitment Partner

      Our 2016 Staff Survey found that 94% of people working at the university agree with the statement,'I feel safe and secure in my working environment'.

    6. "A potential centre for excellence for research (various)!"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Postdoctoral Researcher in Leicester, England
      Former Employee - Postdoctoral Researcher in Leicester, England
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      Pros

      - Going back up the rankings for research
      - Senior researchers need more support in trying to advertise and obtain more funding.

      Cons

      - Focus on teaching, but have to treat students as customers i.e. they are never wrong. Can be a little more selective and ask more of the students - they are capable.

      Advice to Management

      HR, IT management, purchasing can be vastly simplified and streamlined. At a time when research funding is squeezed, researchers must be able to get the most out of their grants, not having to buy a computer at twice the price through the IT dept for example.

      University of Leicester Response

      12 Aug 2016 – Recruitment Partner

      Your comments are duly noted. Speaking on behalf of HR I can confirm that we are continually reviewing our processes with the aim of improving efficiency and service quality for a range of users.

    7. "Lab demonstrator"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Researcher in Leicester, England
      Former Employee - Researcher in Leicester, England
      Recommends

      Pros

      prompt payment, high hourly pay rates

      Cons

      system of payment a bit cumbersome but eventually you get your money

    8. "A great, caring place to work."

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Research Study Administrator
      Current Employee - Research Study Administrator
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook

      I have been working at University of Leicester full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Strong work/life balance, caring employer offering lots of support.
      Calm and appealing campus next to large park.
      Department specific but no agressive managment/leads.

      Cons

      Admin Role specific but can be repetitive and mundane with little variety.

    9. "Very supportive and friendly atmosphere. Well structured and fluid workload with scope."

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Research Administrator in Leicester, England
      Current Employee - Research Administrator in Leicester, England
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook

      I have been working at University of Leicester full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Flexible working hours - I am often able to fit a 7 hour day between the hours of 7am and 9pm which is good for when I have other commitments. Self structured working allowing me to use variation when a particular area of work gets tedious or boring. If I need something all I have to do is ask (stationary, advice, contact info, training etc...). My particular field of work allows me to advance my knowledge through low level research posters and attendance at relevant conferences and meetings. Although not specified in the job description it certainly helps expand my knowledge and understanding!

      Cons

      Certain areas of work are tedious and boring but often need doing to meet deadlines and data submissions. Flexibility is based upon what workload is needed/not needed at the time. Career opportunities aren't often available and are often unclear. Pay is pretty low compared to others my age (26) and the pay scale increments only come around once a year AND you hit a 'ceiling' after 5 years.

    10. "Research assistant"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Research Associate in Leicester, England
      Current Employee - Research Associate in Leicester, England
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook

      I have been working at University of Leicester full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Great team spirit
      Flexible working
      Good progression of career and development offered
      Good collaborative spirit for researchers in field
      Very competitive with other universities
      Constantly making top 20 of Times higer education lists

      Cons

      In academia hours can be long
      Work life balance has to maintained by yourself
      You need to be self motivated to get the work done
      University sites are spread across city from hospital to main campus. - not always a problem or con but something to consider
      Parking permits are like gold dust at hospital sites, so if you live close public transport or hospital hopper may be the mode of transport