A friend with Customer Service experience background taught English in Japan. She really loved it. No prior teaching credentials or Japanese language required. Pay was fairly good, but not IT level.
Regarding tiered school programs. I was never in the gifted program, but I was in the same classes. Ended up being near the top or the top at most of those AP/Honors classes. Just saying.
Regarding nerd status. Yeah, that existed back when I was in grade school. But at least for me at my high school, the jocks for the most part respected the brains. I "had" one of the more popular girls.