alright folks, another question- in the research im doing thus far ive come across many different companies. one that is standing out to me at this point is english first they have"subsidized" deals, where they pay for your cert and visa, and possibly the flight if you will work for the 9 months-year depending on which region you are in.

for those of you that have used companies- id like some examples good and bad, and if anyone has themselves used the english first company that would be even better

All right, Tiff, the point really is that different companies offer different perks. English First may pay for your flight after nine months, but other companies buy your ticket out for you before you start, or, depending on location, pay you back for your ticket immediately after you arrive. Some companies don't do anything like that. English First, however, according to you, pay for your visa; other companies certainly don't and others will pay you back for your visa (provided you have a receipt for it) once you arrive. It's swings and roundabouts. The answer is to check all organisations and individual schools what the perks are.
English First is probably a good organisation to start your working life for. However, like all organisations they have their good places and their bad ones. Dave's ESL Cafe is quite useful as a resource on that front, as many employees of EF write in there. There used to be a lot more English Firsts in Eastern Europe; now they have closed many of their schools here (or sold them to other companies) and are concentrating much more on Asia.
Paying for the CELTA is quite common practice with some organisations, but usually that depends on the school rather than the organisation, and always of course comes with strings attached, i.e. you are obliged to work for that school as a result for at least a year, probably two; that may not be such a bad thing, but it does limit your choice. I have met peoople who work for EF who maintained that they were okay to work for, but like I said, a lot depends on which school you are interested in going to, and this was back in 1999 and a lot can change in 7 years.

I have found that the best way to get a TEFL job is to contact any schools you are interested in directly. That way there is no middle man, so you do not lose any of the pay (which you might not even realise is happening). You can also negotiate directly with the principal and will often be able to fine tune the contract so that you are both satisfied witht he conditions.
Of course, make sure to research the school thouroughly - ask for contact details of previous teachers, and make sure to get in contact with them. Also, be sure to check out sites/forums that reveiw schools that employ EFL teachers.