Q&A With UCLA Employees

For normal workers, none that I am aware of. Senior positions or faculty are on a case by case basis.

Not something that happens much in my experience. But it is possible by using the normal application process.

VSP - UCLA pays 100%, decent.

Retirement benefits, health insurance are both better than you will find pretty much anywhere.

Delta Dental - UCLA pays 100%, coverage limited in practice and finding a provider in LA is getting harder.

Patience. Political skills don't hurt.

There are a lot of really amazing people and there are a lot of people I would rather not have to deal with. Not much in between.

I would say hard. For several reasons. 1. Changing positions is pretty much the only way you will ever see a significant bump in salary. 2. Many positions require specialized training, education, skills, etc. 3. Often positions have a hard ceiling you cannot be promoted into - for example senior senior positions are mostly faculty too. 4. People tend to stay a long time so there is nowhere to go. The takeaway is, it's a place people are committed to working at because of what it is - they stay a long time. There are also people who work there for the benefits and do not care about anything else - they stay a long time - I will let you imaging what this crowd is like. The rest come for a while and go when they have had their fill - or want a promotion.

Depends completely on what you are applying for and where. Hiring is handled by the local departments and units once. UCLA HR just facilitates.

Mostly business casual to casual. Some people dress professionally.

UCLA isn't going anyplace.

It scales the longer you work there. The max after three weeks per year after, I think fifteen years.

Recently, there have been 'merit' increases for the last many years in the summer. They have averaged around 3%. Most people consider them COL adjustments and many departments have given them across the board. This is now being frowned upon by the administration (unsurprisingly). They are tied to performance evaluations in a more consistent way across the university supposedly. If you care about raises or getting them you should work someplace else.

It's possible to find another job in another department. Teams are usually small and specific within an organization so that's less common. However, the department switchers are usually the lifers who are not working out someplace.

Depends on where you are interviewing. Business casual is probably fine for most positions. Professional dress for senior positions.

There isn't any offered. Disability can be used for maternity.

Very good benefits - especially if you stick around. There are many many health benefit options (plus the hospital is right there) and the retirement plan is not matched in the private sector. The tradeoff is you will probably make less money.