If you are new to teaching, you probably won't have any luck in China - you need to have at least two years of experience before you will get a work permit here.

There are a lot of schools on your list that wouldn't even attempt the paperwork for a brand new teacher.

My salary is around 38000 RMB per month + 10% for retirement. Housing is provided. We are also given a flight home allowance each year.

I would email someone directly, too. At my school the HR head scans the SEARCH info. If you emailed the principal directly and the department chair of the department you're interested in, then they can ask the HR person to find you.

There are definitely places that limit teachers to 3 or 4 years because of tax reasons. I can't imagine an international school that has teachers since 1995...

My graduate degree is in economics. When I decided to teach, I went for math education, not social studies. Best decision ever!

In response to the original question, I think asking in terms of salary alone is a little silly. I left a corporate job to become a teacher. If life decisions were all about money, then I would never have become a teacher. I love my job and strive to be a life-long learner and part of that is going new places, putting myself on the steep end of the learning curve, etc.

I don't know what it used to be, but my personal experience these months has been that the health check is done here at home and I'm told it's done again in China. I had a TON of blood tests done, chest x-ray, etc here. The results were recorded on paperwork for my school and on a separate visa application from the Chinese.

I sent it all to my school because they are handling the initial steps of the visa paperwork.

Thanks for starting this thread! I'm moving to Pudong in.. 2 1/2 months. Time if flying!

@ sevarem

a Z visa is good for three months, that's what I meant.

I'm moving to China this summer and my school does a temporary work visa to start us off. They are extremely thorough in the information and process for getting the right visa. That being said, the visa information in the handbook does note that some people need to arrive with a different type of visa, so maybe depending on where you are coming from, it's easier to start with a tourist visa?

I am headed to Shanghai from Houston. When I was looking at flights I noticed some of them involve much longer total travel time than others, like 17 hours total vs. 26 hours total. With small kids that would definitely be something to consider, I'd imagine.

My understanding: you need to be a Christian. Students are of all backgrounds and all religions, and while expectations are that faculty are Christian, they also emphasize an open mind towards others and their cultures/backgrounds/religions. Recently the "religious studies" course changed names and is now "spiritual studies" if that helps.

The package is very, very, very good.

Didn't you take a position in Abu Dhabi, or was that someone else?

I think wntriscoming indicated that would be the amount for 2-3 people per month, maybe that is why it seems like more than you'd spend? Unless I misread.

I can only speak to #4 - you can register for IB training without a job. When I was looking into doing a training on my own, it was no issue about having a job or not.

I ended up with a position in a school that has the AP program, so I ultimately didn't have to worry about no IB experience.