Queen's University Employee Reviews

What is the best part of working at the company?The support that is available "behind the scenes" and the general welcoming atmosphere of the administration team. What is the most stressful part about working at the company?There are "crunch" times when specific activities have to be completed. This isn't specific to Queen's but specific to teaching and curriculum writing in general. It comes with the territoryWhat is the work environment and culture like at the company?Supportive, team-based, transparent. What is a typical day like for you at the company?I've only ever worked part-time so my work took place in the evening and on the weekend. As a part-time instructor, I could set my own hours (working within guidelines). As a curriculum writer, I worked my own hours remotely.

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Sad excuse for an employer, sadder excuse for a university.

Caretaking Attendant (Former Employee) - Kingston, ON - 23 May 2023

My time at queens was long, and nearly drove me insane. They work on a multitiered system of pay and work terms 8 months to 12 month. They laid off workers in 2014, slashed pay and brought in the minimum wage. Working beside people making mid 20s while doing nothing. We worked hard and got nothing. No chance of improvement, no raises. Brand new materials and equipment that performs worse than older equipment and materials. Having 10 people higher than you made issue resolutions nearly impossible. Garbage employer with garbage practices stay as far away as possible.

Pros

Unionized

Cons

Huge areas 168 thousand square feet and more, low pay, high turnaround

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Insights into Queen's University

Based on 24 survey responses

What people like

Ability to meet personal goals
Time and location flexibility
Clear sense of purpose

Areas for improvement

Fair pay for job

Terrible, unproductive place to work.

Caretaker (Current Employee) - Kingston, ON - 21 December 2022

Underpaid and overworked. I would not recommend working in Queens University custodial services. The pay is just slightly above minimum wage and they take so much out of your pay that you'd actually take home more working at Walmart or McDonald's. Management is a joke and treat the employees very poorly. Which is why the turnover is so high.

Pros

None

Cons

Overworked, low pay, management, no training

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Student

Event Planner and Director of Logistics - QLOL Club (Former Employee) - Kingston, ON - 6 December 2022

Good learning institution, good reputation and campus and fun student atmosphere. Good amount of resources available to students and staff, with a long history.

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Good place to be

Manager (Former Employee) - Kingston, ON - 22 September 2022

I'm happy to have been a part of Queen's. I'd recommend employment here to anyone.I could advance through my whole career here in marketing and communications.

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Flexible, but lonely

Adjunct Professor online (Former Employee) - Remote - 20 August 2022

Flexible work, doesn't pay great, whether you get the job or not depends on who you know and if they like you. Very little in the way of training, collaboration, or faculty support. If the course you teach is designed well - it is highly enjoyable. If it is not designed well - not so enjoyable. No culture to speak of.

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Great university to work at

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Current Employee) - Chemical engineering - 28 March 2022

Generally, it is a great place for young professionals to work and gain experience. Kingston is a small but quiet town, also great for families with small kids.

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Pleasant workplace

Front Desk Representative (Former Employee) - Kingston, ON - 19 February 2022

Pleasant experience working here, but management can be slow or uninterested in responding to complaints or concerns. Pay is pretty bad, especially if you are in a non-unionized position.

Pros

Relaxed and solitary workplace

Cons

bad pay, a lot of substance-less lip-service from management

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Amazing opportunity to build skillset and network with other researchers.

Graduate Student Researcher (Current Employee) - Kingston, ON - 17 February 2022

It was great! They encourage remote opportunities and have a supportive workplace culture. The group of researchers I worked with were very organized and time-efficient.

Pros

Networking

Cons

N/a

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Exceptional University and Community

Director, Government and Institutional Relations (Former Employee) - Kingston, ON - 29 March 2021

Queen's offers exceptional professional opportunities and benefits in an incredibly innovative and balanced environment.It is a beautiful campus to both study and work at; immersed within a city of Canada's richest history. Queen's is diverse and inclusive, it has global reach while being deeply committed to the Kingston community. Highly recommend Queen's for the professional and life opportunities.

Pros

Endless intellectual capital

Cons

Endless intellectual capital

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Jobs at Queen's University

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Assistant Professor in Urban and Regional Planning

Kingston, ON

30+ days ago

Understaffed and disorganized

IT Coordinator (Current Employee) - Kingston, ON - 24 March 2021

Biggest issues are: disorganization, no communication, slow administration, no direction, lack of response, decentralized management structureI do not feel safe to be open with my coworkers and management about being a member of the LBGTQ+ community. The individual departments exploit part time employees by dangling the "carrot" in front of them with the vague possibility of full time employment.I do not recommend trying to work multiple part time positions. It negatively impacts your mental health. At the end of each day I'm so tired mentally and need time to recover to the point I don't feel I could NOT do any extra professional development. I'd change the hiring process, forcing the hiring managers actually talk with the coworkers of the potential employee and less emphasis of story time with the new hire. To me the hiring process is biased against those who have a oral and written learning disability, and/or introverts.

Pros

job security, benefits, pension

Cons

job advancement, horrible cost of living adjustment

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Great place to work

Caretaker (Current Employee) - Kingston, ON - 8 January 2021

Relaxed fun competitive stressful just like any other job if you love your job you'll love the place you work...pay could be a little more or more fair but overall great job

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Understaffed and disorganized.

Administrative Assistant (Current Employee) - Kingston, ON - 23 October 2020

The employees are all lovely people who are friendly and welcoming but sometimes it's like management forgets you exist. It takes weeks for them to even send you the forms for your employee information, it was over a month before I received my first paycheck because no one sent me the financial forms until I was forced to track someone down. There's no clear idea who you report to. They don't provide on the job training, or even what exactly is expected of you. There is a severe lack of communication between management and employees.

Pros

Prestigious university, looks great on resume, independence, good schedule, great compensation

Cons

disorganization, no communication, slow administration, no direction, lack of response, decentralized management structure

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Working Contracts are hard, but rewarding

Customer Service Representative (Casual Contract) (Former Employee) - Kingston, ON - 11 June 2020

I have worked with many different departments within the University. Each one was so different from the last. But the skills and knowledge I have picked up through my time there was life changing. Most everyone was so nice and welcoming. Even though you were only on contract. They still treated you as part of the team.

Pros

5 Dollar Friday, Perks, Discounts, Lunches, Pay, Benefits, Pension, Equality, No Judgement

Cons

Parking

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Amazing Experience

All Year Social, First Year Representative (Current Employee) - Kingston, ON - 28 May 2020

Being a part of all year social at queens university made my first-year experience all that much better. I was able to meet many other like-minded students and had the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and attend events that I many not have otherwise.

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Fun workplace

Researcher (Former Employee) - Queen's University - 23 May 2020

Great culture and I really enjoyed my time working with everyone. The management is accepting. The opportunities are endless. I enjoyed working with my colleagues.

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Kind professors

OneClass Professional Note Taker (Former Employee) - Kingston, ON - 19 May 2020

Best place ever! great people and so many opportunities to gain your experience especially in research. Many professors are kind enough to take you in as a research assistant and act as your mentor

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Educational

Chemistry Tutor (Current Employee) - Kingston, ON - 7 May 2020

I learned a lot from my professors and the Masters students I worked under. I appreciated the fact that I got to work with some of the best minds in the field I was to go into.

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Great group of researchers

Lead Data Analyst (Former Employee) - Kingston, ON - 5 May 2020

The Biology Department has a lot of capable researchers who are active in their fields. It's a great University with a lot of history to be a part of.

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Excellent work environment

Teaching Assistant (TA) (Current Employee) - Kingston, ON - 12 April 2020

Plenty of scope for professional development. Highly collaborative workplace. Opportunity to interact with people from all walks of life. Supportive management.

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Extremely positive and fun

Queen's Volunteer Camp Counselor (Former Employee) - Kingston, ON - 20 March 2020

I have nothing to review i only volunteered as a camp counsellor for 2 weeks during the summer of 2014, where I helped children with crafts and field trips, The work environment was extremely positive and fun to be in

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