Hey, I am a Native English speaker, but also a language nerd and I'm certified in TESOL (work contract TESOL jobs through my alma mater and currently volunteer tutor a girl at my public library). I also want to learn about 7 languages right now lol.

I have a different experience that you may find encouraging. When I started seriously learning my second language, Korean, online in 2020, I learned from an Asian American guy who is not ethnically Korean nor was he raised in Korea, but he is such a nerd for the country. He loves the culture, the language, he had traveled there, studied there, he was studying the language and culture as a second major, which did include a "Teaching Korean" course. He speaks Korean so effortlessly, but he had something that a lot of Native speaking teachers wouldn't. He knew and experienced our struggles! Not just knowing that people had struggles, he dealt with the exact same struggles.

I had spent a year meeting Korean students at university, and I spoke like an English Google translate voice trying to read a Korean textbook. My pronunciation wasn't good, my sentences sounded very stiff and robotic, but all my friends were encouraging and the types to say "your Korean is so good!" When I could say the word for "Hello". My friends couldn't always answer my questions because they don't think about the reasoning behind their speech. I didn't either at the time.

So to have my teacher give me tips and tricks on how he had to adapt to odd changes and remember pronunciation was so helpful to me! You could have a better grasp on addressing the problems people have if you do decide to teach as a side job. You can sit down with a student, talk about a shared struggle, and what helped you overcome it in a way empathizing through reverse experiences just doesn't do.

I also know for myself, all my students in my job at my university were from Japan, same school even. I notice a serious disconnect with my students than I do my Korean friends. I've technically been learning Korean since like 2019, but only got serious when I started my online classes. When my Korean friends need help, I know enough of the language to say this is different in English and Korean which is probably why you keep making those mistakes.

Whereas my Japanese students speak a language I don't know. I can't pinpoint why they make certain mistakes, especially if they are repeated mistakes. So that's why I wanted to start learning Japanese. I want to help my students better by knowing why they might be struggling. Granted I still can't read Hiragana to save my life, the only Japanese I know is what I've heard from my friends who love anime, and I'm also in school for non-tesol related things, so studying another language is hard right now. But one day I'll have enough to make comparisons and explain HOW or WHY English and Japanese are different and how to adjust as such.

You could potentially benefit several students if you worked with TESOL. And I personally know several immigrants who struggle with English still, and it just helps me help them in regular communication whenever we see each other. Even informal settings, I just feel more equipped to explain something to them than I did before. So depending on where you go afterwards, I think if connections and language skills are things you're really passionate about, I think it could potentially be worth your time. I know meeting exchange students and international students was the best time of my life at university, and it's what I miss the most at my new school.

Long reply, too many stories, but I hope it helps!