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 6,456 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 48% 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 improved by 1% over the last 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) , Online English Teacher (199) , ESL Teacher (198) , 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 417 reviews)); "Overall really great culture and very easy to feel welcome!" ((in 334 reviews)); "Colleagues are great and share similar values for the most part." ((in 210 reviews)); "Great benefits and travel opportunities." ((in 165 reviews)); "The work environment can be fun and energetic." ((in 114 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 601 reviews)); "Employees are generally over worked and have an incredible amount of work for such a low salary." ((in 503 reviews)); "Poor management and lack of decisiveness from managers that have been stagnating in their roles for too many years." ((in 311 reviews)); "There can be long hours and you get told no on the phone quite often." ((in 157 reviews)); "Bad manager leading the country" ((in 125 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

62% approve of CEO

48% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Culture & values

3.2

Work/Life balance

3.2

Career opportunities

3.1

Senior management

2.9

Compensation and benefits

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).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

5K reviews

2.0

Apr 15, 2014

Good for something to do in your spare time, but find a real job elsewhere if that's what you're looking for

Online english teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

--You're able to work as many or as little hours whenever and wherever you want in the world --You have the opportunity to speak with students around the world

Cons

--Low pay for what you're doing --You get the same pay for teaching Group Lessons as you would teaching Private Lessons, Business English or TOEIC classes, all of which require much more preparation. Englishtown will be assigning these classes soon automatically, for which there is no real incentive to teach. --Training past your initial training is extensive and unpaid --If you're having technical issues and cannot access a class, you will be fighting an uphill battle to get paid, even if it is Englishtown's problem --The student's word is worth more than a teacher's, and management does not care about what the teacher has to say. --Even though some students do not belong in their respective language levels, simply providing feedback of "advance/demote" is not tolerated.

1.0

Jun 30, 2024

Work ethic

Teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Students were amazing and very diverse

Cons

Everything else is a con

1.0

Jul 28, 2022

Please do not work here if you're African American

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefit, hours, and hybrid work oppurtunities

Cons

I've worked in many workplaces, with all races, backgrounds, and ethnicities. To say this is a cultural based company, they are not accustomed to working with African American women and it is SO obvious. This is the only place where I’ve received such nastiness and an unwelcoming atmosphere. They stare at you as if you are an alien from out of space. You can tell they are not accustomed to working with African Americans. Please do not apply here! Save yourself from experiencing such hate and ignorance. If you complain to HR it will only make it worse. They are the embodiment of what stereotypes you see and hear about regarding a white corporate America workplace. They assume you’re dumb and if you bring it to their attention they will only play like they have no idea what you’re talking about. Someone needs to bring attention to their work culture and make them go viral on social media. The comments they make are so insensitive and uncultured and they say it with a smile on their face. Instead of moving around poor management they promote them. They should be careful before someone takes what's going on within the company on social media and calls for their resignation. They do not care about you. The jobs are entry level, micromanaged, and they expect you to work long hours with no extra compensation. A complete living H*LL. Terrible work culture. They need to go viral. From experience, what I've seen, that's the only way to get a company like this attention. Bring it to social media with documentation, call for change.

EF (Education First) Response

3y

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. People are at the heart of what we do at EF, and we are heartbroken to hear that we did not create an environment that felt welcoming and supportive of you. EF strives to be a place where all people can learn, grow, and thrive. We want our team members to be supported by management, maintain a healthy work-life balance, and to feel valued for who they are and the work that they do. The type of workplace culture you describe is not one that we are willing to tolerate, now or ever. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can reach out to us at DEIB@ef.com so we can learn more about and grow from your experience.

Viewing 109 - 111 of 4,611 Reviews

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