TEFL and Trading Stocks with reliable Internet Connection

[gdnknt]

Hello,

I'm considering coming over to Cambodia to live for a while. A while back I posted a thread asking if there would be any issues teaching English as an Asian - Canadian. Thanks to all those who replied. I have additional questions and any input would be greatly appreciated.

1. Should I take a TEFL course before coming to Phnom Penh? Is it really necessary?

2. If I am able to earn $1000 USD a month as an English teacher, I honestly don't know if that would be enough to sustain myself. As a such, I am also
considering trading stocks while teaching English to generate extra income. With Cambodia being a third world country, my obvious concern is the
speed and reliability of the internet connection in Phnom Penh. Having said this, how is the internet speed and reliability in phnom penh? Does anyone else
trade stocks there?

[Jackal]

If you have a university degree/masters or Ph.D. Then you won't need a Tefl and may even land a gig lecturing depending upon what subject you majored in.

However, better to do a TESOL (120hr) or CELTA course to maximise potential earnings and employment options, not to mention better preparing you for work in a classroom environment.

Internet here is fine. Don't worry about that.

[gdnknt]

What if I dont have a bachelors but instead have a 3 year diploma. Will that impact my chances of finding a teaching gig?

[vladimir]

What if I dont have a bachelors but instead have a 3 year diploma. Will that impact my chances of finding a teaching gig?

Diploma in what?

tbh most schools wouldn't know the difference.

[Hot_Pink_Urinal_Mint]

2. If I am able to earn $1000 USD a month as an English teacher, I honestly don't know if that would be enough to sustain myself. As a such, I am also considering trading stocks while teaching English to generate extra income.

Please come up with a better plan if you want to move to Cambodia. On $1000 a month you are putting yourself in a vulnerable position. Things can go wrong very easily in a place like this.

I also don't think your dreams of supplementing your income by trading stocks is very realistic either. You may as well join the tables at the Red Fox.

[springrain]

The phrase 'trading stocks' is an extremely vague one. There are many different ways to trade stocks. I am not being rude, merely trying to be helpful when I see that you state you are 'considering' this option. This suggest no prior experience. As a Canadian citizen (is that assumption about you correct?) you can legally trade CFDs - contracts for difference. This is what I do as a hobby.

I would suggest that you research thoroughly how this works if that is the path you wish to take. It requires Iron discipline and a carefully thought out plan beforehand. There are several providers of this service, with most offering a free virtual trading platform so you can get used to understanding how it works before you take the plunge and invest some capital into a 'real' trading account.

Be sure to read & understand the small print, and, above all, make sure that you understand the concept of 'margin trading.' Let me restate, it requires secure knowledge of how it works and iron discipline. If you get greedy and stray from your considered plans, you can easily come a cropper. It will probably take some time for a newcomer to this to get the hang of it; that will be time well invested, but be sure to only put small amounts at risk while you patiently learn the baby steps.

As regards a TEFL/TESOL, isn't it obvious that you should do one before attempting to teach English?

I wish you all the best!

[gdnknt]

Thanks to everyone so far for responding. I genuinely appreciate your input.

To clarify my situation:

I have a 3 year diploma in IT + 8 years of working experience as a Business Analyst.
I have about 2 years of experience teaching ESL in Korea + 1 year of English test develop experience = total of 3 years of ESL related experience.
I also completed a TEFL course in 2011, but the school has now closed down and I left my graduation certificate in Korea, so there is no way for me to prove that I completed the TEFL to any prospective Cambodian school. My TEFL teacher has agreed to vouche for me that I did take the course and that is the only proof I have to offer.

As for trading stocks, I have studied the markets for years but only recently started Swing Trading 3 months ago. I have been fairly successful so far (10K a month average), but of course past success doesn't guarantee future success. I also suspect that due to time zone differences I would probably would not be able to stay on top of the markets as much if I lived in Phnom Penh.

So why do I want to move to Phnom Penh?

I went through a tough divorce and as a result left Korea and came back home to Canada. I went back to school in hopes of securing a job, but it seems that no one wants to hire a washed up 42 year old who has a 6 year gap on his resume (due to living abroad for the past 6 years). I fell into a deep depression and the only thing that has kept me going is the profits from my trading. Recently, a good friend of parents mentioned that they want to sell their extremely successful convenience store business, which I plan on making a bid for but the owners won't sell their business for 2 years.

So I have two years to kill. I don't want to stay in Canada....I feel restless, depressed. I looking for an escape for two years and a place to live where I can minimize my expenses. I have heard that Phnom Penh is cheap. If I do go to Phnom Penh, I will take about $5000 with me and try to find a job as a teacher and supplement my income swing trading stocks. To be honest though, I'm a little scared about it. My fears include not being able to find a job as I am not White and not being able to replicate my past performance trading stocks. If I go and things don't work out, I would plan on coming back right away.

Any thoughts on what I have written would be greatly appreciated.

[gavinmac]

If you're averaging $10,000 a month trading stocks, why would you move to Cambodia with only $5,000?

[gdnknt]

If you're averaging $10,000 a month trading stocks, why would you move to Cambodia with only $5,000?

After my divorce, the settlement that my ex and I agreed upon was that I would receive 50K dollars. That is all I had to my name and that is what I started trading with. I don't want to take more than $5000 with me for the following reasons:

1) I need funds in my trading account to keep trading. The more I bring with me to Cambodia, the less I will have to trade with.
2) My thinking is that $5000 is more than enough for me to settle in Phnom Penh and find a job as an ESL teacher. If for whatever reason I need more money, I could easily transfer money from my trading account to my Canadian bank account and withdraw funds via ATM in Phnom Penh.
3) From what I read on the internet, Phnom Penh is cheap....$5000 is more than enough?

[gavinmac]

Well, if you have money in a Canadian bank an an ATM card, I'm not sure why you would bring that much in cash.

[walkjivefly]

5k will keep you going for 5 months, maybe more, maybe less. Bringing a pile of cash will save ATM withdrawal fees. You'll need somewhere to keep the cash safe and stop you blowing it all in a week of debauchery and binge drinking. Opening an account at ABA would be a good move. If you like it here and need to transfer more money here it's pretty simple to do. I'm not a teacher but gather if you haven't scored at least a $500-600 per month job after a few weeks there's something very wrong with you. Trading US stocks on US exchanges will mean you need to keep odd hours. Maybe you could try your hand at forex instead. Either way make sure if all your open trades were to get wiped out at the same time (say due to an unfortunate internet failure) that your account wouldn't get wiped out too.

Come and have a go. Good luck.

[gavinmac]

I'm not a teacher but gather if you haven't scored at least a $500-600 per month job after a few weeks there's something very wrong with you.

That's less than the Hooters girls will make. Maybe the Hooters should hire white chicks if Westerners will work for that salary.

[vladimir]

To clarify my situation:

I have a 3 year diploma in IT + 8 years of working experience as a Business Analyst.
I have about 2 years of experience teaching ESL in Korea + 1 year of English test develop experience = total of 3 years of ESL related experience.
I also completed a TEFL course in 2011, but the school has now closed down and I left my graduation certificate in Korea, so there is no way for me to prove that I completed the TEFL to any prospective Cambodian school. My TEFL teacher has agreed to vouche for me that I did take the course and that is the only proof I have to offer.

1. Your IT degree is useless here. Sorry, but true.Business analysis might be useful in market research to osme companies. Better to try that, tbh.
2. It's EFL.
3. No one will check your TEFL. If you did a TEFL certificate, I'm sure you have an image of it. Print it, and use that.

Hope this helps.

[Kachang]

OP,

Wake up, so you're trading with 45K and you've made a 30K profit over the last three months? So you've have either been extremely lucky, you're extremely talented, or you're just bragging. If it's true, continue whatever you're doing and put all your efforts in that and if you re-invest your profits you'll be rich in no time and there's no need to teach in Cambodia for a 1000 USD a month. Trading from Cambodia will be very different due to loads of reasons, one being time difference, the other being missing market opportunities due to teaching obligations.