Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

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sigmoid
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Re: Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

Post by sigmoid »

JamesAlexander89 wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 12:06 pm
sigmoid wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:54 am
JamesAlexander89 wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 2:22 am

I did some research and decided to earn my TEFL certification in my spare time while working my normal gig with the intent to teach English abroad.

I have already set up some interviews with schools and am quite confident in finding work but if anyone has some tips or pointers in terms of schools looking for teachers I would be more than happy to hear about it. Also if there are any opportunities to use my current tech and network infrastructure skills as a side occupation I would be very interested in knowing if that can be utilized in Cambodia.

That sounds like a good start. One thing you should realize is that the TEFL industry is completely profit-driven and that language schools are almost universally poorly managed throughout the region. Even old what's-its-name (the top aussie place) has a less than stellar reputation.

So, you should also be contacting some of the better universities in town.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_u ... n_Cambodia

Of course, many of these are also poorly run as well,
Wow thanks for the information man I'll definitely look into different school options. Is there a page you know of that talks about school policy from school to school. Almost like a "glass door" type deal?
There may be. You'd have to do a search.

You can learn a lot by a looking at each uni's website (if they have one and it's working) and contacting the ones that look interesting.

For example, University of Putisastra (not to be confused with Pannasastra) has a nice one:
https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh
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but at least I'm enjoying the ride.
explorer
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Re: Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

Post by explorer »

It sounds like you have enough money to go back when you decide to. So that leaves you with more options. There are some people who would be homeless if they went back to America.

Many people who visit Cambodia, see things at a superficial level, and like it. There are a lot of things you wont realize until you have learnt the language, and been in Cambodia for a long time.

Even teaching English. You may get a job at a good school, and it may go well for you.

There are many schools where students from wealthy families have to be given good results even if they put in little effort, and learn very little. If you don't give them good results, you will lose your job. It is not about learning. It is about making money.

The attendance at some schools will shock you. We think in terms of attending every day. They have days off for trivial reasons. Teaching is much less effective, when they dont always attend.

Many Cambodian English teachers teach the students so the students will pass the exams. But they don't teach them to speak English. I can introduce you to hundreds of students who have studied English for 4 or 5 years, who have learnt hundreds of words in English, and passed all the exams, but cant even have a simple conversation.

There are all kinds. There are some good teachers and good students. I hope you get a job where you can really make a worthwhile contribution. Just dont expect it to be like America.

Then there is the roads and driving. You will see it. A ridiculous amount of people get killed on the roads every year. If you are involved in an accident, you will be blamed, and you will have to pay compensation to the other person, because you have money, even if it is the other persons fault. I suggest you start with a bicycle, so you get familiar with the traffic while going slow.

The police are more concerned about taking money than stopping crime.

You may be sick a number of times before you understand how bad the food is, and learn you need to be selective where you eat.

There are a lot of things you wont understand until you see it for yourself.

Then there is good also. Cambodians are normally closer than people in Western countries. When you make friends with good people, they will be closer friends than many Americans. You get great satisfaction from helping others. You can have a positive influence in their lives. Many of them will really value you. They will miss you when you are not there.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
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pissontheroof
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Re: Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

Post by pissontheroof »

JamesAlexander89 wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:18 am
pissontheroof wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 4:25 am Here’s a start for you / this guy dave ..

Dave does cambodia , check him out .



I have been speaking with Dave personally via facebook messenger for a few weeks now. His videos are a slow and methodical but it gets thr job done. Thanks for the response

I really am a fan of dave because it’s here and now in real time /
Yea I’m a turd here , i can get along good with dave tho thru facebook and you tube ..
here they have rules i can’t get by , dam commies ! .
No, ( i can Not no private message, no post w/o approval , not even a thumb up !
Kinda like a batshitcrazyweirdo
As chuck berry says C’est lavie .
hope you told dave some anonymous asshole recommend him ,
Sorry now i mentioned it , because i heard much better advice than mine after ( mine given at 4:20 in the a.m.
so i agree with them that you’re an idiot . And of course , I take credit for being more idiotic
Being here is a curse for me . Good luck to you too
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pissontheroof
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Re: Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

Post by pissontheroof »

explorer wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 1:37 pm It sounds like you have enough money to go back when you decide to. So that leaves you with more options. There are some people who would be homeless if they went back to America.

Many people who visit Cambodia, see things at a superficial level, and like it. There are a lot of things you wont realize until you have learnt the language, and been in Cambodia for a long time.

Even teaching English. You may get a job at a good school, and it may go well for you.

There are many schools where students from wealthy families have to be given good results even if they put in little effort, and learn very little. If you don't give them good results, you will lose your job. It is not about learning. It is about making money.

The attendance at some schools will shock you. We think in terms of attending every day. They have days off for trivial reasons. Teaching is much less effective, when they dont always attend.

Many Cambodian English teachers teach the students so the students will pass the exams. But they don't teach them to speak English. I can introduce you to hundreds of students who have studied English for 4 or 5 years, who have learnt hundreds of words in English, and passed all the exams, but cant even have a simple conversation.

There are all kinds. There are some good teachers and good students. I hope you get a job where you can really make a worthwhile contribution. Just dont expect it to be like America.

Then there is the roads and driving. You will see it. A ridiculous amount of people get killed on the roads every year. If you are involved in an accident, you will be blamed, and you will have to pay compensation to the other person, because you have money, even if it is the other persons fault. I suggest you start with a bicycle, so you get familiar with the traffic while going slow.

The police are more concerned about taking money than stopping crime.

You may be sick a number of times before you understand how bad the food is, and learn you need to be selective where you eat.

There are a lot of things you wont understand until you see it for yourself.

Then there is good also. Cambodians are normally closer than people in Western countries. When you make friends with good people, they will be closer friends than many Americans. You get great satisfaction from helping others. You can have a positive influence in their lives. Many of them will really value you. They will miss you when you are not there.


Yea , you sound like you got a head on your shoulders . I would much rather give you a thumb up than admit i agree soo often :cry:
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JamesAlexander89
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Re: Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

Post by JamesAlexander89 »

explorer wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 1:37 pm It sounds like you have enough money to go back when you decide to. So that leaves you with more options. There are some people who would be homeless if they went back to America.

Many people who visit Cambodia, see things at a superficial level, and like it. There are a lot of things you wont realize until you have learnt the language, and been in Cambodia for a long time.

Even teaching English. You may get a job at a good school, and it may go well for you.

There are many schools where students from wealthy families have to be given good results even if they put in little effort, and learn very little. If you don't give them good results, you will lose your job. It is not about learning. It is about making money.

The attendance at some schools will shock you. We think in terms of attending every day. They have days off for trivial reasons. Teaching is much less effective, when they dont always attend.

Many Cambodian English teachers teach the students so the students will pass the exams. But they don't teach them to speak English. I can introduce you to hundreds of students who have studied English for 4 or 5 years, who have learnt hundreds of words in English, and passed all the exams, but cant even have a simple conversation.

There are all kinds. There are some good teachers and good students. I hope you get a job where you can really make a worthwhile contribution. Just dont expect it to be like America.

Then there is the roads and driving. You will see it. A ridiculous amount of people get killed on the roads every year. If you are involved in an accident, you will be blamed, and you will have to pay compensation to the other person, because you have money, even if it is the other persons fault. I suggest you start with a bicycle, so you get familiar with the traffic while going slow.

The police are more concerned about taking money than stopping crime.

You may be sick a number of times before you understand how bad the food is, and learn you need to be selective where you eat.

There are a lot of things you wont understand until you see it for yourself.

Then there is good also. Cambodians are normally closer than people in Western countries. When you make friends with good people, they will be closer friends than many Americans. You get great satisfaction from helping others. You can have a positive influence in their lives. Many of them will really value you. They will miss you when you are not there.
wow great response! i have heard a ton about the schools and teaching but this side of it i have really yet to find info on until now. i do know most school i would teach in are private parent funded businesses and a white native speaker with a TEFL would command more money in terms of how much the school can charge the parents but did not know about the politics you mentioned with passing/failing. makes sense because they want the parents to return or bring in others. i would hope that i land at a job where i feel i am actually making a difference that is sort of the sensationalized/romanticized reason i am going is to really help people learn and have better opportunities due to that learning. thankfully i will have enough money to sustain myself while looking for work. its not critical i find work right away i can afford to look around and relax a bit before committing to contract.
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Duncan
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Re: Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

Post by Duncan »

And if you get a job teaching,,, dont forget to teach the kids to use capital letters at the start of a sentence and other words like '' I '' :stir:
Last edited by Duncan on Wed Oct 23, 2019 3:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Cambodia,,,, Don't fall in love with her.
Like the spoilt child she is, she will not be happy till she destroys herself from within and breaks your heart.
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JamesAlexander89
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Re: Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

Post by JamesAlexander89 »

Kammekor wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:50 am Why Cambodia? You can get more bang for your buck in other countries. Wages are relatively low here and prices keep rising.
And about the teaching- if you’re good at it it can be really rewarding job, but having been a teacher for ages I can tell you must teachers aren’t that good, and then it can be struggle.
Make sure you have a plan b besides your teaching plans, and make sure you have a an idea about your live when you turn 60. As said before you will not build up any social security here and a medical issue will take a cut from your savings.
I could probably go other places. it has to do a bit with location. Cambodia seems like a convenient location in terms of traveling to and from other counties. the generally relaxed visa laws and proximity to other south east asian countries. Also i am a first time teacher. i have taught kids on baseball as well as been a dance teacher in the past so i have experience with teaching but from everything i hear and read Cambodia is a great place for a first time English teacher to get started there is not as much competition as say thailand, vietnam, china, korea, ect.. the initial plan is to teach for a couple years and then move to vietnam to teach with 2 years experience. who knows what will actually happen i may never leave or i may take off in 6 months to a year. i may forget teaching all together someone in this thread already offered me a structured cabling or network infrastructure/construction job which is what the majority of my work experience pertains to. I may just branch off and do something other than teaching. really the relaxed visa regulations, easy for a first time teacher, and lets face it the beer is cheap lol thanks for the question and information
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JamesAlexander89
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Re: Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

Post by JamesAlexander89 »

Kammekor wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:50 am Why Cambodia? You can get more bang for your buck in other countries. Wages are relatively low here and prices keep rising.
And about the teaching- if you’re good at it it can be really rewarding job, but having been a teacher for ages I can tell you must teachers aren’t that good, and then it can be struggle.
Make sure you have a plan b besides your teaching plans, and make sure you have a an idea about your live when you turn 60. As said before you will not build up any social security here and a medical issue will take a cut from your savings.
also i really hope it can be rewarding and fulfilling. that really is the purpose of all this. i know things dont always work out as planned but i hope to start in cambodia and eventually branch out if i feel like leaving cambodia. teaching in countries and places that need good teachers that actually care. who knows maybe in 6 months like some are saying here i will be living in the gutter regretting all of this just looking for my next drink and hooker hahah. I highly doubt that will be the case for me so i am willing to take the risk regardless of the warnings. where do you teach?
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Re: Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

Post by Kammekor »

JamesAlexander89 wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 3:07 pm
Kammekor wrote: Wed Oct 23, 2019 11:50 am Why Cambodia? You can get more bang for your buck in other countries. Wages are relatively low here and prices keep rising.
And about the teaching- if you’re good at it it can be really rewarding job, but having been a teacher for ages I can tell you must teachers aren’t that good, and then it can be struggle.
Make sure you have a plan b besides your teaching plans, and make sure you have a an idea about your live when you turn 60. As said before you will not build up any social security here and a medical issue will take a cut from your savings.
also i really hope it can be rewarding and fulfilling. that really is the purpose of all this. i know things dont always work out as planned but i hope to start in cambodia and eventually branch out if i feel like leaving cambodia. teaching in countries and places that need good teachers that actually care. who knows maybe in 6 months like some are saying here i will be living in the gutter regretting all of this just looking for my next drink and hooker hahah. I highly doubt that will be the case for me so i am willing to take the risk regardless of the warnings. where do you teach?
I quit teaching eight years ago. Two years of teaching in Cambodia (as a teacher trainer) made clear teaching wasn't enough to enable a certain lifestyle. Nothing fancy by the way, but a worry free lifestyle with the possibility to save some money for the future.
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Re: Moving to Phnom Penh in January 2020

Post by Username Taken »

I often get the feeling that many people who are thinking of moving to Cambodia seem to think that all expats are English teachers. That's ridiculous, some are bar owners. :facepalm:


But seriously OP, there are plenty of opportunities here in your field of experience.
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