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 6,471 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 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 (240) , Online English Teacher (199) , ESL Teacher (198) , Sales Coordinator (137) , Sales (76) , Activity Leader (75) , Online ESL Teacher (67) , Sales Consultant (64) , Manager (61) , Educational Tour Consultant (46) , Marketing (42) , Director (41) , EF Activity Leader (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 411 reviews)); "Overall really great culture and very easy to feel welcome!" ((in 329 reviews)); "Colleagues are great and share similar values for the most part." ((in 211 reviews)); "Great benefits and travel opportunities." ((in 170 reviews)); "The team has been great and so open to teaching you everything you need to know and more." ((in 118 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 515 reviews)); "Poor management and lack of decisiveness from managers that have been stagnating in their roles for too many years." ((in 309 reviews)); "There can be long hours and you get told no on the phone quite often." ((in 144 reviews)); "Bad manager leading the country" ((in 122 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

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EF (Education First)

EF (Education First) reviews

Bottom line first, at the cost of the best interest of students. - IB Teacher EF (Education First) Employee Review

1.0

May 31, 2019

Ib teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting colleagues and students from around the world.

Cons

Struggling students were encouraged to re-enroll, though it was clearly not in their best interest. True academic feedback hidden from parents. Treatment of some students and staff seemed racist, with little regard given to Asian students, and extra resources and support, and consideration to European students. Chaotic, disorganized, and occasionally dangerous student services and support for boarding students.

EF (Education First) Response

Thank you for your review. You're right in noting that the teachers and staff at the Academy are incredibly talented, passionate and committed to their students’ academic and personal growth. The multicultural and diverse community at the Academy adds to the value of the experience for the students, faculty and staff alike, many of whom are drawn to working at the Academy because they love the challenge that comes with supporting students from backgrounds that are diverse in every dimension. I disagree with your characterization of the school’s student services and support. As a residential campus, investing in the safety of students, faculty and staff is of the utmost priority. -- Mike Kaufman, Sr. Director of People Operations

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5.0

Apr 22, 2026

On tour support coordinator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good training, good communication especially for a remote position, flexible, great management

Cons

Scheduling and staffing effectively could be challenging due to unpredictable nature of emergency response, which caused both understaffed shifts and overstaffed shifts. In addition, phone-based customer service can be emotionally challenging - customers in stressful situations can often be difficult to deal with.

EF (Education First) Response

2mo

Hearing that the training, communication, and management stood out, especially in a remote setting, is really meaningful. Thank you for sharing! As you mentioned, the nature of emergency response is inherently unpredictable. Our phone-based support in high stress situations can be central to defining the experience for travelers, and the people who handle it are a big part of that. We’re proud of the team you were part of and hope the skills you built here continue to serve you well.

1.0

Jul 7, 2026

Tour consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Well structured, comprehensive formal training. Perks and benefits

Cons

Once training is done, you’re pretty much on your own to figure things out. The weekly meetings with your manager end. You spend all day on the phones and there’s not a whole lot of interaction or collaboration going on in the office or across your team. At the end of the day it is a job and the perks and benefits are nice (travel). It just seemed social interaction of any kind, even to ask questions, was discouraged and in fact was viewed as distracting. The cold calling just gets to be tiring after a while, making it hard to stay at the job for longer than 1-2 years. Good entry level sales job, though.

EF (Education First) Response

18h

Thank you for sharing this reflection on your time as a Tour Consultant in Boston. We're glad the training and benefits were highlights, though we believe strong onboarding is just the beginning when it comes to manager availability and team collaboration. We appreciate you sharing that it didn't carry through in the way it should have. Please don't hesitate to reach out to hr.us@ef.com if you'd like to share more. We wish you the best in what comes next.

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Jobs at EF (Education First)

Digital Product Manager

Summer ESL Teacher Miami Beach

Customer Service Specialist

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EF (Education First)

Bottom line first, at the cost of the best interest of students. - IB Teacher EF (Education First) Employee Review

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