EF Education First Reviews | Glassdoor
EF Education First Reviews
Companies
  • Jobs
  • Companies
  • Salaries
  • Interviews

    EF Education First Reviews

    Updated August 23, 2017
    1,064 reviews

    Filter

    Filter

    Full-timePart-time
    3.4
    StarStarStarStarStar
    Rating TrendsRating Trends
    Recommend to a friend
    Approve of CEO
    EF Education First CEO Eddie Hult
    Eddie Hult
    341 Ratings

    1,064 Employee Reviews

    Sort: PopularRatingDate
    Pros
    Cons

    • Work life balance can be a little tricky (in 49 reviews)

    • Not a ton of room to grow can have long hours at times (in 62 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons
    1. Featured Review

      Helpful (3)

      "Amazing company, culture, mission, and travel opportunities!"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Cambridge, MA
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Cambridge, MA
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at EF Education First full-time (More than 5 years)

      Pros

      - Mission is more important now than ever before. As we read about Brexit, wall building, etc., EF is a company that helps people build bridges across borders through education. Everything we do helps our customers create new opportunities for themselves through education.
      - EF has sent me abroad nearly 30 times in my 4+ years w/the company. And you're not just going to sit in a conference room in some random office or cookie cutter hotel, you're traveling with students and teachers, seeing the sights.
      - Amazing benefits and coolest office space in Boston. 4 weeks vacation after 1 year, great health/dental, language classes, restaurant/bar on the banks of the Charles River
      - The people! Phenomenal colleagues.

      Cons

      - Lots of the EF reviews on GlassDoor are from other global offices and schools and do not reflect the employee experience in our Cambridge, Mass.-based North American HQ.

      Advice to Management

      - Keep it up!

    2. "Summer instructor as ESL Teacher"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - ESL Teacher in Brighton, MA
      Former Employee - ESL Teacher in Brighton, MA
      Recommends
      Neutral Outlook

      I worked at EF Education First full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Very interesting work with students from all over the world! There is a standard weekly curriculum but one can also augment the weekly topics using their own
      related exercises. (and integrate art, music, games, etc. related to the topic).

      Cons

      From summer to summer the number of students can change...and there may or may not be a job available. (This summer was told that there were no longer Saudi students...whether this is related to U SA politics or the Saudi government, I'm not sure...).

      Advice to Management

      Diversify the marketing a bit by country year by year if some countries will no longer be sending their students. (And value your summer teachers as well as those who work all year long...).

      3. Join the EF Education First team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. "EF, Tarrytown NY campus"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Teacher in Tarrytown, NY
      Former Employee - Teacher in Tarrytown, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at EF Education First full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      great collaborative staff. A lot of available help from management. Lessons prepared for you or you could do your own lesson as long as you hit the key points of the original lesson.

      Cons

      low pay, not a lot of room to grow due to lack of positions, adult students can be much more demanding & rude at times.

    4. "Teacher"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee

      Pros

      Easy Schedule and fulfilling work

      Cons

      Incompetent Management and low pay

    5. Helpful (1)

      "Long Hours, Low Pay, Good People"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Tour Consultant in Cambridge, MA
      Former Employee - Tour Consultant in Cambridge, MA
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at EF Education First full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Fun social activities/company parties, great work experience, great people, travel once a year for free. Good benefits (401k is great but hardly anyone stays the full 5 years to get completely vested).

      Cons

      Very low pay (Cambridge headquarters office) , management is cliquey and picks favorites, very long hours , high pressure to come in early /work late/ attend social events outside of work, bonuses are difficult to hit . Everyone dates each other and lives together and it can get a bit cult-like and gossipy.

      Advice to Management

      Pay hardworking employees to stay at the company and make bonus structure more attainable.

    6. "Wouldn't recommend being a non-executive"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Monterey, CA
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Monterey, CA
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook

      I worked at EF Education First part-time

      Pros

      Most of the employees are friendly and there were unforeseen bonuses such as free meals

      Cons

      This company has minimal organization and management which often leads to chaos, stress and a poor workplace culture. I was at a local school site in California over the summer and everyone was at there wits end the entire time. This led to poor retention and poor staffing.

      Advice to Management

      Pay and treat your staff at school programs better. If they are unhappy the students notice and your end product is very poor.

    7. "Resident Advisor"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Resident Advisor in Redondo Beach, CA
      Former Employee - Resident Advisor in Redondo Beach, CA

      I worked at EF Education First full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Position came with full hotel suite, housekeeping with paid utilities. The ability to build lasting relationships with the diverse student population.

      Cons

      The residence owners (hotel management) had no respect for the resident advisors!

    8. "Great Company & Mission"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at EF Education First full-time

      Pros

      Amazing company culture, great perks

      Cons

      Really hard to move up

      Advice to Management

      Career path advice

    9. "Great young professional culture"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      No opinion of CEO

      I have been working at EF Education First full-time

      Pros

      Excellent travel opportunity
      Great young career learning opportunity
      Fantastic upper-level leadership
      Access to global offices and work opportunities

      Cons

      None at this point in time

    10. "Only if you're Sweadish"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Boston, MA
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Boston, MA
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I worked at EF Education First full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Good pay for the industry
      Great facilities

      Cons

      No career advancement if you're not inside the clique (and you won't be unless you're Swedish)
      You are just a cog.
      If you don't drink don't bother
      ZERO work life balance
      If you're not blond and look good don't bother
      All politics are idden - you won't even know what hit you

      Advice to Management

      Nothing. They wouldn't listen. They're perfect and you're not. Take this job as a temp job while you're looking for something serious.

    Showing 1,064 of 1,207 reviews
    Reset Filters