international school teachers' salaries

Depends on your qualifications and years of experience.


That said, stay away from one of those schools if you can. They had an almost complete turnover of staff last year (in the international section) - did not renew most contracts and most other teachers quit. They are obviously in a major flux and need a year before they change management again.

How long is a piece of string? It very much depends on how many years previous experience you have, if that experience is counted when they look at your salary increment, what your qaulifications are, and whether you are here already. A lot of people who join international schools when they have already been residing in HK are not offered "expat" contracts with the perks - they get local contracts. Some international schools offer much worse salaries than others. Some people hope to join an international school as staff because they want the benefit of educating their own children withouth paying the fees. I think there are a lot of things to consider, rather than just a straight comparision of salaries and it depends on so many variables.

I'm interested in this thread.

Why is everyone so stingy with information about $$??!!??!!

BALLPARK

Low of about 30K per month for inexperienced. High of over 60000+++ for very experienced. SOme schools offer housing allowance, signing bonus(from 10-25 % on completion of 2 year contract) etc. and they all differ from school to school.

Hope this helps

Everyone else: be more helpful in your posts!!!

That's pretty funny, ps99. You accuse everyone of being stingy, then give an extreme ballpark answer that contains almost no solid information. :-)


Its too bad there isn't a website where teachers could compare salary and benefit packages in HK.


Salaries range from 30K to 60K? Wow, that alone is a huge difference...who are the low and high ranking schools (specifically, where does HKIS fall in this ladder when the package is taken holistically)? And what is the value of housing...like a 2BR apartment?


--riverman

The PNET and NET scheme should not be equated with the international schools. In the PNET/NET scheme you are, in effect, an agent of change with no power to implement those changes at the mercy of the systems that you are supposed to be changing. You have two masters, the EMB and the School itself. The EMB pays you and the school employs you. My advice would be to believe the statements made by the teachers in the system. This I imagine would be unlikely at an ESF or International School. You absolutely have to investigate the NET and PNET scheme and find out about the school and talk to teachers / forums of teachers in the schemes. Unless you have been here (and taught in local schools - as I have!) you have no idea what you are getting in to. In fact the more demanding and professional the system you are leaving the less chance you will adapt to the one here. On the schemes you could be on a roller coaster ride to Hell. Having said that it's a lottery and some local schools are doing wonderful things with great school heads whilst others will grind you into the ground with inane stupidity and unprofessionalism. I have never found anyone local in the EMB NET section to have ever given me any support or even an answer to any question though the scheme itself is excellent and well intentioned. I hope the government gets its act together before they have no NETs/PNETs left. We shall see. I should also add that I passionately believe in the programme and its aims as language teaching methodology in HK is thirty + years out of date.

I'm not familiar with this PNET/NET scheme thing. Is it a local salary program (maybe similar to 'career ladder' that they have in some US schools?) If so, I don't want to know about it. 'Two masters' is quite correct!


Back to the salary thing...yes, its complex to compare schools, as the variables include such things as:

a) where your initial placement is. A 15-year teacher coming into two different schools will have different placements, and both will differ from a 15 year teacher who has been at that school all along.

b) Benefits: who provides housing, what type and quality, etc. If I remember from my surfing, ESF pays the highest salaries, but they also only subsidize your housing at 25-30%, so depending on what your rent is, you might be committed to spending a huge chunk of that higher salary on rent. Therefore, a school with lower salary and fully subsidized housing could actually provide a better package.

c) Yearly Salary step increases. Some schools inevitably offer larger step incrases than others, and this gets significant over time. I've been at schools where you were placed quite high, then never changed more than a few hundred $US a year. Others where you were placed lower, but your yearly raises were quite substantial.

d) all the other benefits (shipping, professional development, resigning/contract completion bonuses, retirement, etc)


Personally, I find that, unless its a simple one-on-one comparison, you can never really find 'the best' option. A lot of effort can be expended trying to reduce every variable down to a number, so that they can be easily compared, but that's impossible to do without personal judgement calls, which can never be made to be universally representative. Housing on campus might be worth a premium to one person, and worth the sacrifice of a lower salary, while housing on a different island might be a small deterrant to someone else in exchange for a larger step increase each year. Its hard to compare.


However, when taken holistically, it often easy to find a situation that 'stands out' from the crowd...one that is unusually good, or unusually bad. People have tossed aournd ESF as a school with high salaries...is the overall package there understood to be exemplary, too? Or is it known as a place where you get paid well, but somehow its 'not really worth it' because of the other constraints? Likewise, what about the other schools? Which ones are known to be, overall, good schools with good packages, and which ones are known to be, overall, 'not really worth it'?


--riverman

If anyone else questions what I say, check out the South China Morning Post article last Saturday in the Education sector. Now it's official that 60% of ex pat teachers have quit! So instead of fixing the scheme they cut it back and start to kill it. The lunatics are now officially running the asylum!

American International in Kowloon starts at 24 goes up 1000 per year of experience. Delia is around 32k starting 25% bonus when you finish 2 years. Sinapore International 25 and around 1000 per yaer of experince. Canadian 32k start around 1000-1500 per year of experince. Net around 19-22 and 12k for rent. Korean 25 and 1000 for every year of experince. Kinston school 30k and 1000 per year.Chinese International 32 start and around 1000-1500 every year of experience. Salaries have not gone up much in the past 6 years. I think people get scarred to right real money figures because the systems can be very scarry with people who have a lot of influnece and can make or break your career. Best of luck and I hope you get a good contract.

Delia gives 25% bonus...? I don't think so... and you don't get paid in the summer either.


Many very good and informative posts here but the point is that you will only be offered a job at a very good school (one that pays well) if you are qualified and experienced... You will then be rewarded commensurately...

thanks MAry Kay. That was very helpful. Makes me want to go back to teaching.

This thread is almost four years old, wouldn't it be better to ask for up to date information??

what is the salary range for ESF school for support staff ?

Just looked at ESF website, salary is quite good, but unfortunately they have not included any housing allowance into their pay package. This was taken from their website just then. Hope it helps.


Base Pay Incentive Allowances

The current exchange rate (winter 2010) is $12.10 = £1


Teaching Staff

A 12-point pay scale ranges from HK$361,500 to HK$632,640 per year.


Vice Principal

A salary scale based on a minimum salary, mid point salary and a maximum salary for the role is in place.

Teaching and Learning Responsibility Award (TLR) are for additional responsibilities. These are awarded to teachers, but not to vice principals.


TLR 1 - 4 allowances range from HK$12,315 to HK$3,080 per month.

D. Benefits


The Benefits Package includes:


Education Allowance:

80% remission of Foundation’s school fees for up to three dependant children. Allowance provided subject to Double Benefits Rule.

Cash Allowance (in lieu of housing allowance):

This does not form part of salary for the purposes of gratuity calculation.Teacher: A cash allowance of HK$8,050 per month. Allowance provided subject to Double Benefits Rule.

Vice Principal:

A cash allowance of HK$12,650 per month. Allowance provided subject to Double Benefits Rule.

Medical/Dental Scheme:

Teachers and their dependants (spouse and up to three dependant children) will be included in the Foundation’s medical/dental scheme.

Passages:

On first appointment, teachers who are recruited from outside of Hong Kong will be assisted with one-way economy air passages to Hong Kong for themselves and dependants (spouse and up to three dependant children).

Pension:

Teachers will be enrolled in the statutory Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF Scheme).

Gratuity:

A gratuity shall be an amount which is equivalent to 20% of the gross salary (excluding cash allowance) earned in that period relative to the contract.

Hi, Found lot of information on this useful thread, I am looking to start career in teaching prefer kindergarten and primary. Please can anyone suggest how to progress on this. I hold MBA degree and only experience in HK is with a retail bank for 1.5 yrs.

Thanks in advance

ESF do give Housing - its the cash allowance of $8K for teachers and $12K for VPs.