cambodia's capital, low cost, low barrier to entry
the short answer
Phnom Penh has some of the lowest entry barriers in Southeast Asia: many language schools hire non-native and no-degree teachers with just an accredited 120-hour+ TEFL certificate. Get certified first, then apply in person around BKK1 or Toul Kork, and confirm visa and work-permit steps with the school directly, since pay here is genuinely lower than Vietnam or Thailand and should be budgeted cautiously.
| Degree | Not required at most language schools |
|---|---|
| TEFL hours | 120+ accredited minimum |
| Visa | Business visa extension via employer; confirm current process |
| Typical pay | $700-$1,200/month, cautious first-year range |
| Cost of living | Among the lowest in the region |
| Hiring season | Year-round, less seasonal than Vietnam or Thailand |
| Hardest part | Pay is low relative to Vietnam and Thailand |
step one, always
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typical, not guaranteed
An accredited 120-hour course online works for almost every school here.
Passport copies, TEFL certificate, background check — requirements are lighter than Vietnam.
Many teachers land jobs by walking into schools around BKK1 and Toul Kork.
Schools often want a quick trial rather than a formal interview.
Confirm exact steps with your employer; this process is informal in places.
Hiring can move fast compared to Vietnam or Thailand.
The pay is the lowest of the major Southeast Asian teaching hubs, but so is the cost of living, and the barrier to entry is lower too — it's genuinely one of the easiest places to walk in with a TEFL certificate and start working within a week or two. It suits people testing whether teaching abroad suits them at all, more than people chasing savings.
BKK1 is the main expat and NGO-adjacent neighbourhood, with several established language schools and cafés where teachers network. Toul Kork is quieter, cheaper, and has its own cluster of schools serving local families. Riverside is more touristy and less useful for job-hunting.
The most common mistake is comparing Phnom Penh salaries directly to Bangkok or Ho Chi Minh City ones without adjusting for cost of living or contract quality — some schools here are informal about pay dates and hours, so ask other foreign teachers before signing. It's a real market, just a smaller and lower-paying one.
what people actually ask
Yes, this is one of the easier places to start — many language schools hire non-native, no-degree teachers who hold an accredited TEFL certificate. Don't skip the certificate though; it's still the baseline most schools check for before a trial class.
Typically yes — expect a cautious $700-$1,200 a month range at language schools rather than international-school figures. Cost of living is correspondingly lower, so many teachers still find it workable, especially as a first stepping-stone posting.
Most teachers extend a business visa through their school, but the exact steps and costs vary and aren't always formalised. Confirm the current process directly with your employer before assuming anything from an old blog post or forum thread.
A 120-hour accredited online course covers what most schools ask for here. There's little need to pay CELTA prices for this market; save the premium course for if you later target Europe or the Middle East.
Accepting a verbal-only agreement on pay and hours. Get terms in writing where possible and ask current teachers at the school about actual pay dates, since informal arrangements are more common in Phnom Penh than in Vietnam's bigger cities.