employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

EF (Education First)

Engaged Employer

Beautiful campus, great colleagues -- but it feels a bit like 'The Circle' ... - Area Manager EF (Education First) Employee Review

4.0
Aug 28, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Being at EF feels like something out of The Circle (Dave Eggers' book): the company strives to create this 'all-inclusive' culture, where you can work, socialize, and spend your free time with EF people ... and doing EF things. Unlike in the book, here this isn't necessarily a bad thing - the people are generally smart, the new office building and surrounding area are seriously beautiful, and the mission of EF is an easy one to get behind... but be prepared to get on the company bus - or get out. You will feel like the company works really hard to support its employees, offer advancement (though there aren't many opportunities - so this is largely lateral) and continuing education, and keep everyone positive. It is an exceptional place to work and going into 'the real world' office culture after EF will probably be a culture shock!

Cons

If you are someone who works for the sake of work, or who doesn't share the 'company spirit' (akin to team spirit, high school spirit, cheerleader spirit) - it will be hard to advance and you probably won't be happy there. There is a sort of 'college culture' of drinking and parties, which the lack of a dress code and campus-like offices contribute to, all of which combined may make you feel like you're still an undergrad. The blatant expense of the new building (as well as the tuition fees of the neighboring Hult Business School) stands in stark contrast to the salaries of most employees, and there is pretty high turnover in most departments. The structure of the company is like a bottleneck - very few people are at the top, and there are many entry-level type positions with few advancement opportunities.

Explore other reviews about EF (Education First)

5.0
May 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fun place to work at. Lots of opportunities especially early on in a career.

Cons

Sometimes salary is not as competitive as other places in Boston area.

avatar
EF (Education First) Response
1mo
Well this is what it's all about! Early career opportunities while having fun along the way is a big part of what we hope people experience working at EF, and we are happy to hear this in your reflection. Thank you for sharing your note on compensation as well. We review our compensation packages regularly to make sure they align with our industry standards, and we appreciate your perspective on that.
1.0
Jul 7, 2026
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.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All