Jobs are available throughout Cambodia, but apart from British teaching or helping out in guesthouses, bars or restaurants, most are for professionals and arranged in advance. There is a lot of teaching work available for English-language speakers, although the salary is directly linked to experience. Anyone with an English-language teaching certificate can earn considerably more than those with no qualifications.
For information about work opportunities with NGOs call into the CCC which has a notice board for positions vacant and may also be able to give advice on where to look. If you are thinking of applying for work with NGOs, you should bring copies of your education certificates and work references. However, most of the jobs available are likely to be on a voluntary basis, as most recruiting for specialized positions is done in home countries or through international organizations.
Other places to look for work include the classifieds sections of the Phnom Penh Post and the Cambodia Daily, and on the notice board at the FCC in Phnom Penh
Do not expect to make a lot of money working in Cambodia, but if you want to learn more about the country and help the locals improve their standard of living, it can be a very worthwhile experience.
Volunteering
There are fewer opportunities for volunteering than one might imagine in a country as impoverished as Cambodia. This is partly due to the sheer number of professional development workers based here, and development is a pretty lucrative industry these days.
Cambodia hosts a huge number of NGOs, some of whom do require volunteers from time lo time. The best way to find out who exactly is represented in the country is to drop in on the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia (CCC – Tel 023-214152 – Add: 35 Ph 178) in Phnom Penh. This organization has a handy list of all NGOs, both Cambodian and international, and is extremely helpful.
One organization that does encourage volunteers is the Starfish Project (starfishcambodia.org) based at the Bakery in SihanoukvilIe. Other places that can readily benefit from volunteers are the orphanages in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and other towns in Cambodia, as some of these are in a very rundown condition. Even just stopping by can brighten up the children’s day.
The other avenue is professional volunteering through an organization back home that offers one or two-year placements in Cambodia. One of the largest is Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO – vso.org.uk) in the UK, but other countries have their own organisations, including Australian Volunteers International (AVI – autralianvolunteers.com) and Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA – vss.org.nz) – The UN also operates its own volunteer programs; details are available at unv.org. Other general volunteer sites with links all over the place include worldvolunteerweb.com and volunteerabroad.com.