Is EF (Education First) a good company to work for?

EF (Education First) has an overall rating of 3.4 out of 5, based on over 6,457 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 61% of employees would recommend working at EF (Education First) to a friend and 47% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about EF (Education First) have been left by employees working as Sales Manager , Director and Intern .

Does EF (Education First) pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, EF (Education First) employees rate their compensation and benefits as 2.9 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at EF (Education First). This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at EF (Education First)?

61% of EF (Education First) employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated EF (Education First) 3.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.7 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at EF (Education First)?

English Teacher (293) , Teacher (246) , Tour Consultant (238) , ESL Teacher (199) , Online English Teacher (199) , Sales Coordinator (137) , Sales (74) , Activity Leader (73) , Online ESL Teacher (67) , Sales Consultant (63) , Manager (61) , Educational Tour Consultant (46) , Marketing (42) , EF Activity Leader (40) , Sales Associate (40)

What are the pros of working at EF (Education First) according to real employee reviews?

"The company is great for people right out of college and that have an interest in education and travel." ((in 426 reviews)); "Overall really great culture and very easy to feel welcome!" ((in 325 reviews)); "Colleagues are great and share similar values for the most part." ((in 219 reviews)); "Great benefits and travel opportunities." ((in 163 reviews)); "The team has been great and so open to teaching you everything you need to know and more." ((in 121 reviews))

What are the cons of working at EF (Education First) according to real employee reviews?

"You'll be doing a lot of work for low pay and have no life outside of EF." ((in 611 reviews)); "Employees are generally over worked and have an incredible amount of work for such a low salary." ((in 516 reviews)); "Poor management and lack of decisiveness from managers that have been stagnating in their roles for too many years." ((in 310 reviews)); "There can be long hours and you get told no on the phone quite often." ((in 158 reviews)); "Bad manager leading the country" ((in 124 reviews))

What are employees saying about EF (Education First) layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about EF (Education First) layoffs and their outlook for job security at EF (Education First) in 2026.

What are the top reviewed EF (Education First) locations?

Boston , Cambridge , Denver , Tarrytown , San Diego , Austin , New York , San Francisco , Thornwood , Santa Barbara , Miami , Chicago , Miami Beach , Brighton , Los Angeles , Washington , Honolulu , Atlanta , China , Redondo Beach , Remote , Long Beach , Pasadena , Monterey , China Grove , Dallas , Houston , Seattle , Portland , Baltimore

EF (Education First) reviews

3.4

61% would recommend to a friend

(4,611 total reviews)

Edward Hult, Ph.D

61% approve of CEO

47% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

EF (Education First) has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 4,611 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The EF (Education First) employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.8 stars).

Reviews by job title

5K reviews

2.0

Jun 16, 2015

Great vision but an organizational shambles

Manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting work, great health benefits. A good taste of business / sales / operations for young people out of college but beware of handing over 10 years of your life without realizing it!

Cons

Work hard play hard is really another word for "live to work" and not "work to live". I can see why others think EF is cultish because it is all-consuming and you could work 100 hours a week for your whole life and never feel like you can do enough. Culture that breeds workaholism, affairs and kills families.

1.0

Nov 16, 2013

This company is not 'for education'

Teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Nice staff, decent students, located in a popular area.

Cons

Curriculum is repetitive and non-academic, management, false promises of 'higher pay and insurance'. Some students have to travel over an hour by bus and train. Some students live in homestays of 15+. Majority of students are younger than 19 and may think they are on vacation.

1.0

Mar 16, 2010

Understaffed, so overworked!

Summer intern

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- Get to work with interesting students from around the world - Get to work on a beautiful campus with benefits such as a gym and pool for free -Can get on-campus housing if needed -Lots of young people to work with and make friends with -Tarrytown is one of the best places to live. Fun and cute small town near NYC -Some fun events involved in working at EF

Cons

-Everyone is expected to work overtime almost every day with no special pay -No consideration for work/life balance, especially if you live on-campus -Full-time positions are very underpaid -Will be fired if you object to any corporate policies or refuse to work 60 - 80 hrs/wk -Understaffed during crazy summer when most students are there, so students tend to take it out on interns and workers instead of management...have to deal with complaints everyday -No organization or separation between job titles.. confusion on who does what, and if you're a nice person who wants to work hard and get praised, you will be overworked (taken advantage of) and not praised in the least

Viewing 55 - 57 of 4,611 Reviews

Jobs at EF (Education First)

ESL Teacher - Summer 2026

Activity Leader-Summer

Summer Activity Leader

Part-time ESL Teacher