Job Discussion Forums

[elliot_spencer]

Hey guys, does anyone have anything good to say about EF? Does anyone work there and can give positive posts?

THANKS!!

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

This is getting silly now. I will tell you the same thing I have told a billion people looking at EF:

-EF is like McDonald's

-It is a franchise

-If you have good things to say about EF in Dalian, it's good for EF Dalian

- If you have bad things to say about EF on the moon, it's bad for EF on the moon

- You can't judge all EF's by different citys' problems or benefits

- Do a Google on it; or ask them for references before you take a year of your own life away

[alter ego]

[The Ever-changing Cleric]

[vikeologist]

I work for EF. On the whole I'm finding it to be a positive experience, and I'm a fully qualified EFL teacher in my 40s with managerial experience, so my expectations of an employer are quite high. Frankly I'm a prima donna.

There is a dress code, but I wouldn't say that any of us stick to it religiously. We're professional adults so we don't need to be told what to wear. I don't clock in or out. I'd resent it a bit if I was expected to.

However, that doesn't mean that I'd work for another EF school unless I was pretty sure what I was walking into. My positive experience with EF is because of the individual school itself. Sometimes it's the little thngs. When students cancel classes, they let me know rather than letting me turn up at the school to find out. I feel as though I'm part of a team that has my back.

I think that there would be a place for a dscussion of EF as an organisation; their professional development and their course materials, but unfortunately I'm not convinced that this forum is the correct place for it. Also, we teachers do sometimes have grievances, and my DOS could probably get a highly paid position with the UN with her mediation skills.

If you work for EF, it's hard work, but you should be well rewarded, supported and appreciated (if you merit it), but clearly this sometimes doesn't happen.

If someone is comng to China because they're at a loose end and they want an well-paid easy job for a year that doesn't interefere with their partying and exploring China, then EF probably isn't for them.

It's a job.

[vikuk]

[vikeologist]

ESL teaching can be a profession. Becoming a DOS in a large western school isn't something I'm interested in, but if I was, working for EF could be useful in a number of ways.

I think that if i was so inclined in 2 years time I could obtain a DOS position, (which rightly or wrongly would look decent on a CV) and have saved up enough money to go back to the UK and do a DELTA.

My guess is that there woud be better ways or options than EF China depending on what stage one is at in one's career, and I would also wonder at the sanity of someone who thought that becoming a DOS and having to deal with ESL teachers would be enjoyable and rewarding, but a dead end it is not.

Of course most teachers in China don't see teaching as a long term career, just a job for the short to medium term which they will do conscienciously and well because they enjoy it, but there are career teachers out there, and many of them pass through or even start in China on their way.

Despite all this, coming to work for EF China is a huge gamble unless one finds out from teachers at that school how things really are. One shouldn't assume that the person who recruits you is 100% honest

[TexasHighway]

I think most of the criticism of EF is not related to their professional development and ongoing support. I think many new FTs have used EF as a good entry point into the ESL industry. But EF is notorious for its the low pay and long hours. For most university jobs, a teacher puts in 12 to 18 teaching hours a week and the rest of the time is his own. In my case, I work 8 months a year but get paid for 12. Several years ago I was inteviewed for an EF university position in Shanghai. I was told a teacher is expected to put in 40 hours a week and on a 12 month contract is expected to teach all 12 months. If you are not teaching, you are required to be doing office work or out passing out flyers. The money they offered me was an insult and I ended the inteview in a hurry. I was wondering if this is the norm or just the requirements of this particular franchise.

[alter ego]

[vikeologist]

[quote="alter ego"]

[vikuk]

[englishgibson]

[Totemic]

[englishgibson]

you get in under assumptions they're managed from HQ, but learn the hard way they aren't

you try keepin'it the "EF way" and your employer shows you the door..point being is that HQ often agrees with the investors and even if you're right or act on their behalf, you're out and not only from one center

you see the filthy investment multiply in front of your very eyes

cheers and beers to the HQ writers and their points on

[vikuk]