This is a bit dated, as I went overseas in 2000; I came from a similar situation such as your own, so I thought I would reply. I hope this helps!

At job fairs, stateside experience was plus, and I was surprised how many admin interviewing me had spent a certain amount of time in their own careers working at tough public schools. They understood why I was leaving the public sector for the private. I should add that at this time no job fair would take a teacher unless he or she had two years of experience prior to attending the fair; it was just taken as a given that that experience would be in a public school. All the schools I've worked at since then have required state certification for US schools anyway. I also had taught a few years of AP, which helped give me a leg up.

My experience was good; I ended up at a tier 1 school in Asia (see all the tier 1 debates on this forum for more info) and had a positive experience there.

That number really will depend on where you live; Shanghai is widely considered to be the most expensive city in China, whereas smaller cities (and even Beijing) can be much cheaper.

Consider the whole package: if a school is giving you housing and airfare, then it isn't a bad starting salary if you're right out of college. If you do not have these amenities (not to mention having to pay your own health insurance) then that actually isn't a huge amount of money. The image of China is cheap, and if you live like a local, it is. However, if you want more of an expat life in a city like Shanghai, then your salary simply won't go as far.

The new "social security" tax is coming, but it isn't 100% definite for teachers yet.

My first job fair was at UNI in 2000; at the time I was a young teacher with no IB experience, and I was lucky enough to get a job at a good school. In the five years I was there I was able to be trained for two different courses on the school's dime. So yes, in my experience, it is possible, but I would also offer the caveat that job fairs were a lot different in 2000 than in 2012.

I think it's possible, but you might end up at a tier-2 school at first. Having said that, once you get IB experience, more doors are open. One possible avenue for you would be to pay for the training yourself and then place that certification on your resume. I've had friends who approached job fairs with that strategy, and it paid off.

Pollution: Beijing is far, far worse. Shanghai air isn't the greatest, but depending on where you live in the city, it isn't that bad. Shanghai doesn't have the coal plant issues of Beijing, and while traffic does contribute to Shanghai's pollution, it is a coastal city and that helps blow the junk out of the air.

Culture: As long time China people have told me, "Beijing is more Chinese." There are a lot of interesting cultural things to do in Beijing, but the question is, how long will it be before those cultural things wear off? Some of the oldest buildings in Shanghai were actually built by the British. Shanghai does get a lot of good concerts, however, and has a budding art/performance scene.

Expat Life: Shanghai wins, hands down. There are a lot of expatriate people in Shanghai, and there is no shortage of things to do. Friends who have lived in Beijing complained about feeling too alienated (kind of a strange complaint living in a foreign country, if you ask me).

In the end, I think the pollution factor alone makes Shanghai better than Beijing, but some people feel Shanghai is too Western. I'm sure Beijing will give you more of a "Chinese Experience" to use terminology I've heard before. Good luck!

The norm at schools I've worked in has been tuition for two children; the unspoken half of this discussion is about benefits. In the ten years I've been overseas I've seen for-profit schools spout like mushrooms, and they typically seem to be quite stingy on their packages. Friends looked at a school in Vietnam and ended up turning it down because they would have to pay half of their childrens' tuition. My advice: go for a non-profit, well established school in either of those countries. If someone isn't going to pay your child's tuition, don't bother with them, because the odds are there are a host of other things they aren't willing to pay either.

I think insubordination put it perfectly: if one did listen to such people, then one would never do anything in life! On the family and grandchild issue, my wife and I finally had to have a sit down with our parents and bluntly say we weren't having children. In private, with my father in law, I basically asked him if he really thought a human life should be brought into the world just so he had something to do. It wasn't kind, but neither was constantly haranguing us about filling their needs instead of our own.

With our parents, we ultimately had to say that this was our life, and there was no way we were changing it. I left the U.S. ten years ago, and it wasn't until I had been abroad for about five years that my own parents came to accept it. In the end, the best thing to do is leave and start to live your own life, and just ignore the people who don't understand what you do, or why you do it.

Just an FYI: my administrator just returned from the first Bangkok fair and said there were 100 fewer candidates than last year, and the second fair wasn't shaping up too well in terms of numbers of candidates. Quote: "Both were teachers' fairs." I'd guess there will still be a lot of openings!

Please keep in mind this information is dated by three years, that being the last time I looked into ESF.

1) I am an American with extensive IB experience, but when I applied I was told they only hired people from the Commonwealth. It was a bit frustrating, because I was applying for an IB position, and I didn't think that being an American would be a big deal, but it was.

2) The money isn't what it used to be. ESF teachers are on two separate scales, according to a friend who worked there; when the ESF began they paid large salaries in order to entice people to move abroad. Once teaching abroad became more common, they changed the salary scale; I'm not sure how far the new scale goes in terms of saving money and living well in HK.

I hope this helps!

Schools make the most money off of a teaching couple with no children; a single hire with a non-teaching spouse is expensive for a school, because they're not "getting" anything from the spouse. I had a head of school explain it to me as thus:

It takes a school two years to break even on hiring a teaching couple with no dependents; in other words, after two years, the school has broken even on the cost of the recruiting fair, airfare for the new teaches, relocation, cost of housing, etc. After that two year period, the school starts to "make money" off of that teaching couple. Apparently, a single takes a bit less time to break even.

Contrast that with a teaching couple with two kids; the school never "breaks even," because they're always paying tuition for the two kids, and that can be expensive.

A teacher with a non-teaching spouse has someone who requires insurance, housing, visa costs, etc., and that person isn't working or putting anything into the school; thus, those couples aren't desirable hires because of financial reasons.

It isn't fair, but even non-profit schools have to look at costs.

It's nothing as dramatic as what happens in public schools in the U.S. Here is what I mean by a bad school:

1) They offer a teacher a contract or specific position, and then when the teacher shows up the package or job has changed.

2) Schools that are for-profit and run the school with money in mind and not education or people.

3) Schools that don't have transparent governance.

I'm sure a lot of other experienced overseas folks could add to this list!

I'd say you have a good chance, especially with Math. I left the States after teaching public school for just three years, and I can honestly say moving abroad saved my career in teaching. While there are bad schools out there, there are many good ones as well. Good luck in your search!

[i]1) Are there less positions available ?[/i]
It's too early to say; schools usually don't require teachers to sign contracts before late November. They may post tentative openings in October, but in September the market always looks dry. I would say the number of positions might be different than prior years because of the economy right now; if people are in good jobs, I'd wager they'd stay there rather than risk moving on.

[i]2) Are international schools offering contracts that offer less benefits than
in previous years ?I keep reading on ISR reviews that schools are doing this more and more to their teachers.[/i]
It's hard to say; again, with the economy, I would imagine proprietary schools would be cutting benefits. There are also schools that phase in new benefits for new hires.

[i]3) Are there more and more poorly managed international schools out there ? [/i]
I believe so, simply because the number of schools has grown so astronomically that there is a shortage of good administrators. Look at it this way: when I first went abroad in 2000, there were hardly any international schools in China. Now there are dozens! Beside the lack of good administration, I've always been biased against proprietary schools, because I've seen, more often than not, that profit comes before education.

I sympathize with your dilemma, because I was there back in 1999-2000, and it was a hard decision to move overseas. When I left, I told myself, "This is just for two years." This is now my eleventh year. Yes, bad things can happen, but so can good things.

Keep in mind that by asking this question, you're going to be getting extremely subjective answers.

My two cents: there are always plenty of job openings, but for myself when recruiting, the question has always been, "Are there good job openings?" By good I mean schools that teachers want to teach at because they are professional organizations that treat teachers well, and value education. This is my eleventh year abroad, and in my own opinion there are few great schools out there, several that are good, and far too many that are just plain bad.

My conclusion: the job market will have many jobs, just not that many good jobs.

For my past three job fairs, I've always registered for both and had no problem. In the "old days," and I'm talking about 2000, Search Associates was supposed to screen candidates and only let the most qualified ones into their fairs, but my directors, both past and present, have told me that's a myth. As for myself, when I used Search, my associate did nothing to help me find a job; she, or in the second case he, just walked around and chatted with the heads. So, don't expect a lot of personal help. I'd actually be interested to hear from someone who did receive a lot of personal attention from a Search associate.

As for ISS: it's my opinion that they let basically anyone in. Their fairs tend to be larger, but no less more of a meat market than Search fairs.

On the DUI front: when I lived in S. America, the country to which I was moving did do a police background check. I don't know if a DUI would've sunk me, but it does vary. Two of the three countries I've lived in did not do background checks.

Qualifications: you seem to have good qualifications, and a teaching credential is essential (at least I've found it to be.)

As for the Bangkok fair: I was very successful there as a single teacher, but I had AP and IB experience going into it. I would say this: it is a strange meat market. If you're in a hard to fill slot, I think you get snapped up fairly quickly, but ISS and Search are early fairs; recruiters can take their time. So, it is aggressive, but only for certain people. Without a doubt, couples with no kids and specialists are desirable, but I do think it's fair to say that many people walk away with nothing.

My best advice to you is to have an open mind as to where you might work, and to have a plan B in the unfortunate case a job doesn't come up. As for timing: I'd start in October.