My wife is Khmer, we own a home in Phnom Penh, and are thinking it may be time to relocate there. We know about the current restrictions requiring an invitation, the deposit, and the quarantine. We'd be looking to come sometime next year, so I'm hoping that might be relaxed a bit by then.

I have a doctorate and 25 years of experience as a full-time professor in the US, Singapore, and Malaysia. I'll apply to some of the universities there, but I know the salaries are very low.

It appears that there are a lot of new international schools. Other than the four top-tier schools, ISPP, Northbridge, AIS and CIS, I'd like to know which of the others are worth considering. We have an 8-year-old daughter, so it would need to be a school I'd be willing to send her to. I'm not expecting a western salary or package, just a decent living wage. I'm also not interested in teaching ESL.

Thanks for any suggestions and contacts.

I think the top highschools will definitely be willing to consider you, but keep in mind that lecturing and teaching high school are two totally different things, so I'm not sure if they'd hire you right off the bat. They generally require IB experience and so on. I think you'd be way better off applying at local universities, which would be more in your domain of expertise. I think a few options would be: American University PP/Royal University of Phnom Penh/Pannasastra (though they've got serious financial issues at the moment) and a few others would be worth considering. It won't be a tenured position in a western university type of salary, but more than enough for a family to live off.

Do apply at the highschools though, I'm not trying to dissuade you. Just that your experience isn't really in line with secondary school, but I'm sure they'd consider you for something in the higher levels (plus getting free tuition for your kid is the main bonus).

My first choice would be ISPP. If they provide free schooling for your daughter, that is about 25k a year in addition to your pay package. Southbridge would also be worth considering. A big factor is where you want to live. Southbridge is located in Pen Huot, which is one of the nicest borreys in town. You can rent three floors of a shophouse flat there for 500.00 per month, and you would be able to walk to school/work each day. They are building a shopping mall, and there is a hospital, driving range, supermarkets and restaurants inside the neighborhood. The streets are wide and tree lined. It is a very nice place, but it is a hassle getting across the Mohnivong bridge into PP.

I’m not unfamiliar with secondary school as about half of my career was training teachers. I also understand it’s an uphill battle to get into the top-tier schools. I’ll apply to them of course, but I was thinking I might have a better shot one rung down. Southbridge should be worth a look. Any others?


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I work at a reasonably big, well known school not native speaker but near native. $2200 a month now we are back after covid. Lucky but good attitude goes long way and turning up early, smart dressed.