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 6,465 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 (240) , Online English Teacher (199) , ESL Teacher (198) , Sales Coordinator (137) , Activity Leader (74) , Sales (74) , 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?

"Met some great people and walked away from each class with a smile on my face." ((in 420 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 211 reviews)); "Great benefits and travel opportunities." ((in 162 reviews)); "Fun work environment and coworkers." ((in 119 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 627 reviews)); "Employees are generally over worked and have an incredible amount of work for such a low salary." ((in 522 reviews)); "Poor management and lack of decisiveness from managers that have been stagnating in their roles for too many years." ((in 307 reviews)); "There can be long hours and you get told no on the phone quite often." ((in 156 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

(4,616 total reviews)

Edward Hult, Ph.D

62% approve of CEO

48% 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 4,616 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

5.0

Sep 29, 2025

good

Tour consultant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

culture, hours, nice office space, good people

Cons

management, cost of living in city

EF (Education First) Response

9mo

We’re so glad to hear you’ve enjoyed the culture, people, and work environment at EF! Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback as a Tour Consultant.

2.0

Sep 26, 2025

Cons more than pros

Teacher

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Diversity. Students and staff are from all around the world, lots of things to learn from them.

Cons

- Amount of work doesn't doesn't match the low pay - Marking, lesson prep, breaks are unpaid. You literally only get paid the minutes you're in the classroom - Course book is quite poorly designed, and you have to teach with that everyday - You have to create authentic teaching materials for Special interest classes (about 30% of your total teaching hours), and are unpaid. There's almost no materials for you to teach those classes - Facilities are old and broken. 20 adults hoping to practise on their listening skills while there's no speaker in the classrooms but just the projector's "speakers". 13+ teachers are sharing one old printer, which always is down and disconnected from the PCs. - Management is chaotic, there isn't an HR department/person. Communication can be more transparent - Zero career progression, or chance for development - Zero benefit

EF (Education First) Response

9mo

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience working as a Teacher in our Manchester school. We’re sorry to hear it wasn’t all positive, but we really appreciate your feedback — it helps us keep improving. Our pay, marking, and lesson prep policies follow EF Language Abroad’s global framework to ensure consistency across all schools. The 5th edition of our main course book is also nearly complete, and we’ve not had any specific concerns raised by students about the current version. We know SPIN (Special Interest) classes have had mixed feedback in the past, and our academic team has been working to build a strong resource bank to make planning easier. Many SPINs now use EF-published materials, and at Manchester they make up no more than 20% of a teacher’s timetable. The school is currently undergoing a facelift, with classroom equipment and resources being reviewed and upgraded as part of that. Staff also have access to EF Language Abroad’s People & Culture function for any HR needs, and our academic team meets weekly to support communication and planning. We’ve rolled out our career ladder to make progression opportunities clearer, and regularly share details of both EF-wide and Manchester-specific benefits with our team. We appreciate your feedback and wish you all the best in your next steps.

3.0

Sep 25, 2025

A big company that works like a startup

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Company culture & team events

Cons

In the HR function: Work overload and very little resources Lack of structure and processes Things change constantly No work from home No benefits

EF (Education First) Response

8mo

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience working for EF Language Abroad in Malta. We’re sorry to hear that you felt there was a lack of resources and benefits. As a global company, EF Language Abroad offers a wide range of benefits, including tuition reimbursement, free access to EF Hello language learning app, travel opportunities, and various training and development programs. In Malta specifically, we also provide local benefits such as discounts, insurance and hospital plans, as well as access to local events and conferences. We understand that EF’s entrepreneurial environment may not be the right fit for everyone, but it is a core part of who we are and how we operate. It gives our local offices and schools the freedom to shape their own processes and structures, always with the support of our central teams. Thank you again for your feedback; we have shared this all with the team in Malta. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Viewing 175 - 177 of 4,616 Reviews