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ACE
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kurtz



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 518
Location: Phaic Tan

PostPosted: Sun Apr 06, 2014 5:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good post, sarge. It does highlight the problems of this forum though. My comments on ACE stem from an experienced teacher; however, your post talks about someone wanting to experience Cambodia - big difference.

I enjoyed my holiday in Cambodia, but low wages, brutally hot weather, gun crime, bag snatching and assorted scams, no thanks. Yes, I know Cambodia is not alone in that Wink
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Dave_1



Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 88

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

1st Sgt Welsh wrote:
kurtz wrote:
Cambodia as a holiday destination, fine. Cambodia to live on USD$1000-1500/month, you've got to be joking. Let's keep the goalposts in line. Experienced teacher and aforementioned wage with no sick pay or holiday pay with a realistic schedule of 6am to 8 pm; only for backpackers.

Pass.


In regards to the hours, my friends who worked there did say that splits came up, but, from memory, it was not that brutal. Personally, I hate split-shifts, but, alas, it's common in TEFL and I had to do them when I was working at ACET in Saigon Sad. We would have a 7:45am class for 4 hours then a two-hour lesson at 6:15 p.m. However, I didn't have to do them all the time and management spread the hours out as fairly as they could. In regards to the pay, I could support myself easily in Cambodia on $1500 a month. I doubt I would save that much though.

If you don't think Cambodia is a viable option for a teacher then no one is trying to convince you. You don't even like the country. However, for those who like/love Cambodia and want to experience living there, the fact remains that ACE is the best school to work for. If someone wants to spend a year or two experiencing a beautiful, welcoming country with a fascinating history then I can understand that. If it is not your cup of tea, then fine.


I'd be extremely wary of ACE due to the number of public holidays and gaps between terms/semesters...all unpaid. One could get 26-28hrs a week at one point but that ended when new DoSor policy came in... cut everyone to 18-20hrs a week as they didn't want to compromise quality..let them do their job better by reducing hours burden.so kind of them eh?..obviously just great for teacher..a 6hr a week pay cut. It may have changed but it wasn't good from reports I had from staff a year or so back. Some classes fine but some very tricky characters too...and Cambodians do not do face to face complaining..sadly the non confrontation aspect can lead to more two face than one...they will drop by admin and say what they feel they can't directly..it's just culture and not fault of students as such. Be wary of ACE
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AlwaysBeClosing



Joined: 13 Nov 2012
Posts: 9

PostPosted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 11:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kurtz wrote:
Hello alwaysbeclosing,

I am sorry if my comments made you upset. However, I didn't do a degree and gain several years of teaching experience to work for peanuts in a shitehole like Cambodia. Furthermore, I don't give a damn if Siem Reap is less developed; I still would have been working for ACE and thus would have expected a good hourly rate.

If ACE suits your obviously basic needs, go for it; however, I don't want to be living in abject poverty upon retirement so I have found work more in line with my experience and skill level.

Have a nice day.


Not upset in the slightest, just calling you out.

If you're not interested then why post here? Thankfully, I like "shiteholes" like Cambodia as there's something to do, an aspect of being able to change something in whatever way.

They offer an amazing hourly rate - apparently paying more in a day than most Cambodians early in a month is low to you. Great, you've got such high standards that price you out of most countries in the world.

If you're in ESL, then IELTS and EAP is up there in terms of skill levels that you require. If you want more, teach English to natives then?

1st Sgt Welsh wrote:
kurtz wrote:
Cambodia as a holiday destination, fine. Cambodia to live on USD$1000-1500/month, you've got to be joking. Let's keep the goalposts in line. Experienced teacher and aforementioned wage with no sick pay or holiday pay with a realistic schedule of 6am to 8 pm; only for backpackers.

Pass.


In regards to the hours, my friends who worked there did say that splits came up, but, from memory, it was not that brutal. Personally, I hate split-shifts, but, alas, it's common in TEFL and I had to do them when I was working at ACET in Saigon Sad. We would have a 7:45am class for 4 hours then a two-hour lesson at 6:15 p.m. However, I didn't have to do them all the time and management spread the hours out as fairly as they could. In regards to the pay, I could support myself easily in Cambodia on $1500 a month. I doubt I would save that much though.

If you don't think Cambodia is a viable option for a teacher then no one is trying to convince you. You don't even like the country. However, for those who like/love Cambodia and want to experience living there, the fact remains that ACE is the best school to work for. If someone wants to spend a year or two experiencing a beautiful, welcoming country with a fascinating history then I can understand that. If it is not your cup of tea, then fine.


6am-8pm never happens in Phnom Penh, not unless you ask for it. There are early hours like that, but they don't expect you to work that long, they finish you early because of the start. Never heard of anyone doing split shifts either - there were plenty doing Tues/Thurs/Sat, Mon/Weds/Fri/Sat, some doing Mon-Sat because they wanted to get paid, and Mon-Fri with Mon/Wed/Fri as evenings only.

Vietnam is different, well, Saigon anyway (where I'm at right now) as only youngsters tend to study in the daytime at public schools for the most part; everyone else studies morning or late afternoon/evening-time. Just the way it is there - thankfully Penh is different!

With regards to $1,500 a month, sometimes I was getting less and still managed to save a lot. $5 towers of beer and $1/$2 meals go a long way, as well as the ability to cook.
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kurtz



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 518
Location: Phaic Tan

PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2014 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Amazing" hourly rate.
$1500 per month
Cheap beer and $2 meals

Call me out all you want, you've got bottom feeder written all over you.
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1st Sgt Welsh



Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 946
Location: Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

PostPosted: Wed Dec 31, 2014 8:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kurtz wrote:
Good post, sarge. It does highlight the problems of this forum though. My comments on ACE stem from an experienced teacher; however, your post talks about someone wanting to experience Cambodia - big difference.

I enjoyed my holiday in Cambodia, but low wages, brutally hot weather, gun crime, bag snatching and assorted scams, no thanks. Yes, I know Cambodia is not alone in that Wink


Sorry for the very delayed response kurtz. This thread seems to have slipped my mind and I just checked the Cambodia forum again today on a whim Embarassed. Anyway, I'm an experienced teacher too and I would not see it as beneath me to work at ACE and, like I said, I've heard good things about it from people who I know very well and who have worked there. Indeed, the teaching is probably much more serious and rewarding at ACE than, for example, the vast majority of institutions in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia often pays well, but, they have to because otherwise very few Western teachers in their right mind would touch that country, or their invariably appalling students and management, with a barge poll. I'm just using Saudi as an example, but, the sad fact remains that, in our industry, good remuneration does not necessarily equate to living in appealing places or having decent and fulfilling teaching experiences. Each teacher needs to weigh up the pros and cons of each position they are considering and consider their own individual priorities.

In my view, at least at ACE, you will be dealing with Western management, decent administration, more than adequate resources and respectful students. To me that's worth quite a bit. Secondly, there is nothing wrong with wanting to experience particular countries. That's why I got in EFL in the first place and I'm sure I'm not alone on that. If you have certain financial commitments or goals that you can't meet by TEFLing in Cambodia and you don't particularly care for the country anyway then fine. Don't teach there. Personally, I can't afford to work in Nepal (despite adoring the country) and, despite the pay, I have no desire to work in Kuwait, simply because I don't want to live there. However, for those who are interested and in a position to teach in Cambodia, I don't see any problems teaching at ACE and my friends who did work there were able to live comfortably and save a bit. Quite simply, for those who do want to live and teach in Cambodia then ACE, based on what I know, is, the best gig out there.
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markustm



Joined: 15 Mar 2010
Posts: 95

PostPosted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:34 am    Post subject: ACE and other Options? Reply with quote

It sounds like the ESL scene in Cambodia hasn't really changed much, considering ACE are one of the only schools offering a basic contract.

I used to work in Cambodia myself, and realized some kind of Job security (a contract) is better than the normal hourly or part time work most teachers did at the time, especially with the unpaid holidays which are more frequent than neighboring Thailand or Vietnam. One reason I left.

The only other options could be working for an NGO, or on a short-term development project through the UNDP, which I'm sure offers both job security and a much higher paid salary than ACE.
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juriusz



Joined: 05 Sep 2011
Posts: 26

PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2019 11:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just wanted to ask if things have changed at ACE - especially regarding split shifts, medical cover, national holidays.
Going through the old posts, it seems that the place was improving (2015 sounds way better than 2012), but there is nothing after 2015. They are advertising again.
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sigmoid



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276

PostPosted: Sun May 12, 2019 11:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is my general opinion, as I have never worked there nor do I currently live in Cambodia, but if they are advertising, that probably means they haven't improved. Otherwise, they would likely not have any openings.

In addition, I saw a post on a local forum in which an expat had sent his wife or gf there for classes there and he was complaining sbout the teacher, which implies that they are not attracting the best.

Finally, an acquaintance of mine was teaching there a couple years ago and ended up leaving after about 6 months or so.

Everything I have recently read about Cambodia itself suggests that things aren't really improving in that regard either.
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Unheard Utterance



Joined: 02 Aug 2018
Posts: 55
Location: On the road

PostPosted: Fri May 17, 2019 10:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have worked with two ex ACE teachers.

They pay rate depends on what you teach. IELTS pays more than Beginners level.

There are three schools in Phnom Penh alone, which means they have to permanently advertise for staff. It’s a mill.

I suggest anyone looking to work there to look at their academic calendar. Just have a look at the massive amount of national holidays which are all unpaid, as well as the 4 semesters, each with at least 10 days off in between including 4 weeks over Christmas which are also unpaid.

Apparently, teachers who put in the hard yards during the year get extra classes over the Christmas break if you want to celebrate Christmas in Cambodia.
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Paul Barufaldi



Joined: 09 Apr 2004
Posts: 271
Location: Beijing

PostPosted: Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey guys, I'm applying to this company and this thread has me a little confused. It seems like a lot of the complaints on this thread are based on the idea that the work of a "teaching hour" is only from the moment the class starts til it finishes, disregarding prep and grading.

So the only question then is how much prep and grading are expected with ACE? From reading this thread I'm not at all convinced it's unreasonable.
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hobartwells



Joined: 29 Jun 2017
Posts: 45

PostPosted: Sat Nov 30, 2019 11:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like ACE. The people and the students are great. There is no micromanagement, the management is Khmer ( calm and Buddhist) and there no sadistic Western managers on a power trip, running around shouting at teachers, and threatening to write them up or fire them.

My only gripe is:

Lots of unpaid holidays, almost two months of those. This makes it un-affordable for me in terms of having to pay bills back home, etc. This is just not enough money for me.

When I signed up, this was not mentioned, thus, let it be known to all those who plan to sign up.

I understand it's Cambodia, but the company could still offer long term properly paid positions which are full time with standard teacher's schedules and paid time off.

Even if it were $2000 a month, it would still be great.

Many other colleagues either have pensions, rental payments coming from back home or are married. If you are a single middle aged person with no pension, this is only a temporary position to tide you over.

This is the reason I will be leaving at the end of the contract.
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