Simon Fraser University
This place could kill your light
Tutor Marker, Education Dept (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 21 April 2018
SFU is a place of anxiety and pain. Do yourself a favour and get out instead of getting involved.
Management is oppressive, oversight of how your immediate superiors treat you is anything from lax to nonexistent and the system seems to rely on whoever the present lowest employee level is working extra hours unpaid. If you care about the overall health of the school then you'll be crying trying to alter things, but if you only care about your own butt then you might enjoy life under some one of SFU's many rocks of nonsense.
Management is oppressive, oversight of how your immediate superiors treat you is anything from lax to nonexistent and the system seems to rely on whoever the present lowest employee level is working extra hours unpaid. If you care about the overall health of the school then you'll be crying trying to alter things, but if you only care about your own butt then you might enjoy life under some one of SFU's many rocks of nonsense.
Pros
There are some cool people here
Cons
Miasma of fear and oppression, devious management, wage calculated to make life so hard you go into debt
Depends on what position you have
Post Doctorate Fellow (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 18 April 2018
If you never become involved with HR labour relations side of this institution it seems like it is run pretty well except.
Like most public institutions there are too many mangers and too much bureaucracy but that is par for the course.
Like most public institutions there are too many mangers and too much bureaucracy but that is par for the course.
Pros
Generally a good cooperative atmosphere
Cons
commuter campus with minimal and expensive parking
engaging workplace
Track and Field Youth Camp Leader (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 8 April 2018
very friendly environment with helpful bosses, many opportunities to move up in ranks. Got to work with lots of kids which was by far the best part of the job
Pros
pay was very good
Cons
long trips to get to job
Great atmosphere to work in, a bit difficult to deal with so many different departments
President of the SIAT Student Union (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 4 April 2018
My position often varied from week to week due to the diverse amount of projects and the different requests from different departments. This really helped me get exposed to a lot of different jobs and skills.I did not like dealing with waiting for different people to e-mail me back through the processes of the projects. I was always quite busy and it slowed me down a lot when clients would take longer than a week to respond about projects they asked me to do. However, my coworkers made up for any annoyances I had. I worked with a lot of SFU students so we got along quite well. Since they were senior students, I learned a lot from them as well.
Pros
Great work culture
Cons
A lot of busy clients to wait on
Temporary position
Fundraising Campaign Assistant (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 26 March 2018
It was fun working with the student callers and watching them grow into their roles. Experience wasn't as important as your level of education. Financial goals were reached which was the best outcome
Pros
The hours were perfect
Cons
Management was challenging.
Academia is not for everyone
Teaching Assistant (Former Employee) – Vancouver, BC – 13 March 2018
If you love reading academic texts and writing up long, advanced arguments about the state of your field of study then academia is for you. Your success is exactly what you put in and is definitely not for the lazy or faint of heart.
Pros
Fairly flexible and free working hours
Cons
Stress, writer's block, arguments and disagreements with peers common
A work place full of diversity
Campus Tour Guide (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 9 March 2018
As a work place, SFU always advocates cultural diversity and a respectful working environment. It always provides different opportunities for its employees to grow.
Pros
Free lunches all the time
Cons
on the mountain
Fun place to work
Assistant Manager (Current Employee) – Vancouver, BC – 7 March 2018
Simon Fraser University allows its student to keep working and learning about their careers as they study through a work-study program. I have been working through this program since I started university at SFU.
University Life Style
Undergraduate & Department Secretary (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 23 February 2018
Very academic so good for those who enjoy the academic lifestyle. Systems are all UBC so a huge learning curve for those coming from the outside having to learn them.
Pros
Hours - Short
Cons
Can be boring the work.
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productive and fun work environment
Student Caller (part-time) (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 29 January 2018
days are very punctual and a typical day is only 4 hours. I learned how to be persuasive over the phone when looking for donations for scholarships and evolved my verbal social skills. The environment was fun because I was working with like-minded students. the hardest part of the job was being denied donations and having to deal with rejection for a majority of the shift.
Team work
Administrator/Program Assistant (Former Employee) – Vancouver, BC – 11 January 2018
Loved the team I worked with, I am now retired and do still visit and keep in touch with the office staff I worked with.
We are all able to help each other and the part I loved most was dealing with the students and the public.
We are all able to help each other and the part I loved most was dealing with the students and the public.
Pros
morning meetings
Cons
snow days
Fun and pleasant working experience
Research Assistant (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 4 January 2018
Dr.Plettner's lab in SFU is my first working place. I've learned so much throughout the year as a volunteer as well as a full-timer during the summer. I've also made some good friends and they accepted me more willingly than i expected. The most enjoyable part of the job would probably be the time we spent together after work and when everyone worked hard as a team.
Good University.
Researcher (Ph.D. Student) (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 13 December 2017
I found the University had excellent researchers in my faculty. It was a smaller faculty than usual for Canadian Universities, but that made for a more friendly environment.
Pros
Learned a lot.
Enjoyed variety of jobs
Sinon Fraser Temporary Pool (Former Employee) – Surrey, BC – 1 December 2017
Working at Simon Fraser offered me the opportunity of exposure to a lot of different office and work environments doing a variety of tasks I had not done previously. I enjoyed the opportunity to grow in knowledge and found the personnel at all the locations I was placed, pleasant and friendly.
Pros
Surrey campus was close to home, and variety of tasks was great
Cons
Burnaby campus was difficult to get to.
Supportive staff, engaged students, low pay
Instructor (Current Employee) – Vancouver, BC – 18 November 2017
For the short time I have been there, staff has been supportive and the students have been highly engaged. This is all good. The pay is considerably below the value I provide, though.
Great environment
Research Assistant (Former Employee) – Burnaby, BC – 27 October 2017
This school was amazing. The professors are generally helpful and willing to go out of their way to ensure you understand the concepts. Social life with other students is limited