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?

"Met some great people and walked away from each class with a smile on my face." ((in 418 reviews)); "Overall really great culture and very easy to feel welcome!" ((in 330 reviews)); "Colleagues are great and share similar values for the most part." ((in 211 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 115 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 616 reviews)); "Employees are generally over worked and have an incredible amount of work for such a low salary." ((in 521 reviews)); "Poor management and lack of decisiveness from managers that have been stagnating in their roles for too many years." ((in 304 reviews)); "There can be long hours and you get told no on the phone quite often." ((in 150 reviews)); "Bad manager leading the country" ((in 121 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

Jan 6, 2022

Not a place to grow your career or make decent $

Content specialist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The people (besides upper management). They truly believe in the power of opening the world through education.

Cons

I worked at EF for 3 years and, looking back on my time there now, am disgusted at how I was treated. The upper management are pro gaslighters. They make you feel as though you are SO lucky to be working for the company, and compensate you for your passion and hard work with a free meal every now and then and overpriced office parties, instead of a respectable salary and chances for career improvement. It’s impossible to move up at EF, and those that do, have huge egos about it. Only now that I’ve moved on and joined other organizations, do I realize what it feels like to be valued as an employee and treated with respect in the workplace.

1.0

Dec 29, 2021

Waste of my 20's

Tour consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- your teammates. This is the only pro to this company. A lot of hard working individuals who are young and eager to jump into the work force. Sadly, pretty much all of the friendships I acquired over my 6 years at EF feel the same - huge waste of time with minimal career growth.

Cons

- I cannot stress this enough - the pay. Throughout my 6 years at EF I did not see more than a 10% pay increase. I have since left and started a new career path and saw a 10 % pay increase within 6 months of working. EF makes you feel like you can be immediately replaced and will not invest in the longevity of their employees. There was an actual "pay cap" for the position I was in that was ridiculously insulting. - "the perks" - EF will brainwash you with trips, parties and other BS to make you forget how little they are paying you. Remember - your rent/mortgage/education and overall basic human necessities cannot be paid in "wow" moments. Also, you have a measly 50 euro a day to spend on these trips which buys you a coffee and croissant in Denmark, so enjoy! - Management - Management will provide you "feedback" without taking their own advice. - They set their employees up for failure. During Covid, all that mattered were sales, which is understanding given that they do not want to go out of business. However, this leaves service to clean up the mess with endless nights of travelers coming down with Covid on tour, quarantining in another country for 2 weeks and also holding people to cancellation fees while we are going through a global pandemic. -Experts at "pushing people out" - If you are even slightly interested in another career path, hold off on mentioning it to management, because your position will be filled within 2 weeks whether you have a new job or not.

EF (Education First) Response

4y

Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review and provide this feedback. In terms of salary, we do review our compensation to ensure we are offering a competitive package within our sector. We always want to improve, and your comments are valuable for our efforts in this matter. Should you want to connect further, you can email HR@ef.com so that we can learn more about your experience.

2.0

Mar 21, 2018

Low pay, Much expected

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

EF offers a fun work environment for recent graduates not ready for the jump into adulthood. There is a very relaxed environment, a beautiful office, and a bar on site. The people hired for EF are generally of the same feather - outgoing, fun, and nice. I have met some life-long friends at EF. Unlimited sick days and many vacation days mean that you get a good amount of time off (if you can get it approved by your manager - coverage is prioritized). Most products within EF offer the opportunity to travel with the company at least once a year.

Cons

EF has incredible turn-over due to the lack of compensation. It doesn't take long to get run down by the daily struggle of being on the cusp of debt with no clear path within the company. Those who work hardest are often promoted when spots open up, which means management is typically ill equipped and seldom trained to actually lead a team or delegate tasks because they simply are hard workers, not leaders. It is difficult to find your place here unless you find someone that takes an interest in you (and they don't quit). There are a lot of smoke and mirror games to keep new hires excited rather than actually developing or investing in those who have proved their own interest and loyalty with EF. High expectations for performance, stamina, and morale despite the lack of financial investment, career opportunities, or actual employee development.

Viewing 58 - 60 of 4,611 Reviews

Jobs at EF (Education First)

Activity Leader-Summer

ESL Teacher - Summer 2026

Summer Activity Leader

Customer Events and Business Development Co-Op