I have just finished my BS in August in Geography w/ emphasis in GIS and a minor in International Business. I am picking up Mandarin with a private tutor where I live. BUt I can imagine it is going to take a bit since I dont see her too much.

So questions start here,

Do I need a teaching certificate or is the BS I hold good enough?

What does it take to get hired?

Are you hired from a US company and then shipped over?

What is paid for? Airfare, a place to stay, food?
^^^^^^^^^^^
I heard it is different then US companies so that is why I ask.

I do not want to be a teacher in life but I am in love with the Chinese culture, I have never been to China but am picking up the language now. I think that this would look great on my resume later on to. Plus I just want to be engrossed in as much Chinese as possible.

Please no sarcastic or snotty comments. Please keep them to yourself. Answering these questions means alot. I do appreciate it.

do a search on the internet for teach english overseas and you'll find several websites of companies that hire people to teach English in foreign countries. I looked into this a yr ago. You will have to undergo training if hired. They will pay for you to fly there if you commit to teach for a year. I believe that you get to live for free and have the weekends off plus you'll be paid a certain amount. Different companies have different benefits. Do you research and find the most reputable one to apply to. Good luck. Sounds fun.

there are tons of esl job boards and lots of work in China. I'm not sure what the specifics are but you should be able to find a question board that could help you more with that.

Here are the links that I checked when looking for jobs.

www.eslcafe.com >Dave's ESL - very popular - check daily - also good for teaching resources

englishjobmaze.com
eslemployment.com
marksesl.com
mrtefl.com
teachabroad.com
tefl.net
totalesl.com

these sites are mostly for jobs in Asia
eslcareer.com
eslmonkey.com
hiteacher.com

Some basic rules -
Know what you should get and what you want.
Hold out for what you want - ask to change your contract and make sure things are specific. (I had to fight for my vacation days)
Talk to someone who works at that school now. Ask questions.
Be very cautious about replacing someone who abandoned their contract.
Trust your intuition, if something feels off, it probably is.
Have fun, it's a blast.
Good luck!

another vote for dave's esl site. lots of good information there including what precautions to take.

You will need qualifications in TESOL, ESL or similar. You can expect to be paid around 120 RMB per hour. Some companies supply housing others don't, some will offer airfare others don't. There are some shonkey companies out there so be careful. Country areas are the most in need of teachers and country people are more friendly than the cities.

1 - a BS in anything is good enough
2 - get on the internet and start contacting teaching opps or email me and I can give you some people/schools I am currently workign with
3 - Chinese copmpany
4 - salary, housing in most cases not all, depends on where you are placed and your monthly salary, airfare is the same, food you might get a free lunch at the school
5
practice your Chinese - chinesepod.com

for job information in China, http://www.foreignercn.com/
It's an English website and will make your life easier in China