Karce is right, and I’m so glad someone else is actually saying what I think and get tired of repeating. Just scroll up this category and you’ll see people asking for basic info on teaching here, on Y!A. How reliable is such a person? Would you like to be the one that nobody wants to entrust their kids to?

Don’t look for other ways to go about doing it; do it the right way. Remember that if a thing is worth doing then it’s worth doing it right. People will trust you, look up to you and respect you all the more for it.

Here is another one of the “it depends” questions I know three people who went overseas to teach English and none of them had ESL qualifications or teaching degrees in fact one English was not his mother tongue. I am lead to believe if you go with a private company to teach English to adults most only want a degree in something (anything) on the other hand if you go with a government posting they want the ESL ticket

You do not need to know what you are doing first for many employers and in many countries your first requirement is to look, act and speak like a native English speaker. Lots of reputable certifications such as Cambridge CELTA or Trinity Certificate to give you a minimum standard qualification if you want or feel you need it at a minimum of cost. Better to try it out for a few years first to see if you like it before dumping cash on higher education beyond your first degree. Not knowing what your future job focus may be in your mid-twenties is no great worry (if that is the case for you). As you will discover many people try on ESL for a few years before getting what they might consider a real job or as a result of not wanting a real job. For many it is a short-term way of life. It is also a profession, a career and a very real job for some.

No matter if you are teaching ESL in another country or your country, you need to be qualified.

I am in China at the moment finishing teaching ESL, there are some people who are terrible teachers with fake ESL certificates who lied to get a job.

Don’t be one of them.

If you don’t want to take it seriously then don’t bother.

YES. Being a native speaker of a language doesn’t automatically over-qualify you for an EFL job.

You need to learn about teaching: the how, what, when, and why (in a nutshell).