13 Instructional Design Careers for Skilled Professionals and Those with No Experience
39 minutes
Instructional design is one of the hottest industries right now, and it’s growing rapidly. Organizations around the world are looking for new ways to leverage eLearning to boost employee productivity and gain an advantage.
This means there are bountiful opportunities for both experienced and aspiring learning designers alike to succeed in the instructional design industry. However, there are many different career paths open in this field.
In this article, we’ll dive into 13 different instructional design careers to help you find the perfect path to your next eLearning job, regardless of your previous experience.
Read on to find out if instructional design is right for you, which sectors and industries are hiring, and the most frequently asked questions about instructional design.
Is Instructional Design Right for You?
There are many reasons why anyone might be interested in a career in instructional design.
It’s not just about the competitive salaries and generous company benefits, because many instructional designers enjoy other professional perks. As such, the career is associated with high levels of job satisfaction, relaxed work environments, and an excellent work-life balance.
So, instructional design is a good career, but is it the right choice for you?
Well, if you’re creative and you like writing or helping people learn, then it may be the perfect choice. Not only that, but if you’re good at learning, with tech, and with people, then you may be the right fit.
As we will explain, learning designers can have a wide range of responsibilities and work styles. This means that there are many skills, both hard and soft, that are associated with the job. These include:
Learning skills. Instructional designers need to be good learners. Plus, a mastery of the theoretics of good learning design is essential for this career path.
Proficiency with tools. Instructional designers also need to have a strong working knowledge of the tools that are needed for every single job in this industry.
These tools can be divided into two categories:
Authoring toolkits for creating eLearning content.
Learning management systems (LMSs) for hosting eLearning content.
Read more: The 60+ Best Instructional Design Software Tools and Resources for 2024
Thorough knowledge of at least one authoring toolkit is essential for success as an instructional designer because designing instructional material will be your main responsibility. However, a firm grasp of how an LMS works is also important, because almost every company will use an LMS to deliver training to employees.
As a learning designer, it is important to understand the platform through which the learning will be delivered. This will help you know the possibilities and limitations of your designs.
Read more: Best Corporate Learning Management Systems
Different Types of Instructional Designer Careers
Instructional design jobs can be categorized in different ways, depending on which sector or industry they’re in, the various roles and responsibilities, and if they are freelance, contracted, or you’re a business owner.
Let’s first look at the sectors and industries that are open to instructional designers.
Corporate roles in instructional design are not in short supply. No matter the size of a business, effective training is an integral part of corporate success, and instructional designers are paid well for their work in improving business success.
Government departments and agencies are also looking to hire learning designers and often provide good work benefits and perks.
Academia is another sector in which the instructional design role is in high demand. Colleges, universities, and other organizations of higher education need up-to-date and effective learning content to succeed.
Nonprofits are a great place to work if you’re looking for fulfillment in your instructional design career. They offer some of the most interesting and diverse positions.
Instructional design is vital in virtually any industry.
Every industry in a modern economy can benefit from the power of effective training, and thus, learning designers can find gainful employment in any industry that interests them. You don’t necessarily need any industry knowledge because you’ll have access to subject matter experts (SMEs).
As such, it’s possible to look for job openings in fields that you find interesting or that perhaps offer desirable job perks and benefits. Whether it’s luxury brands, travel, or F&B, many industries offer unique opportunities and experiences.
Roles and responsibilities of instructional designers
As well as working in many industries, the role of instructional designer can include many facets.
Designing learning from scratch. Learning designers will sometimes need to be the creative spark behind a new training course, developing learning objectives or outcomes.
Setting out parameters for learning projects. If an organization has its learning goals already determined, then it can be the instructional designer’s job to establish the outlines for the course.
Working with SMEs. One of the most important roles of an instructional designer is to liaise with subject matter experts in order to source the information for the training.
Writing content. A core part of any learning material is the written content. Instructional designers may find themselves becoming adept writers through this part of the role, as they define the educational core of the content.
Develop multimedia content. Simple words are not enough to maximize learning potential. Learning designers will often outsource or create their own visual, audio, and interactive content.
Designing a learning experience. This is the main responsibility of the role and is the most creative of all the processes. A learning designer must think about and facilitate the interactions that learners will have during the course.
Planning assessments. Assessments are an integral part of any learning experience and require expert planning.
Monitoring and managing learning. Many instructional design roles will also require that the designer monitor the effectiveness of the learning material and use this information to shape future education.
eLearning vendors, in-house production, and freelance
Another consideration is whether to work for an eLearning company or in-house.
Both of these options have their benefits.
| eLearning vendors | In-house eLearning developers |
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eLearning companies are becoming more and more common and successful, offering corporations the ability to outsource their learning design needs to a specialized organization, rather than hiring for a position in-house.
Instructional designers working for an eLearning company will more likely have specific roles, as mentioned above, in order to specialize and improve effectiveness across the company. You may also find yourself working on a number of projects for several companies.
If you choose to work in-house for a company, then you can expect to be more responsible for the entire learning process, and might even be the only instructional designer in the company. However, larger companies will probably employ a team.
One more option to consider is whether to pursue this career as a freelancer.
While instructional designers do tend to enjoy a good work-life balance and a relaxed working environment, it is possible to maximize this by becoming a freelance learning designer. Being self-employed does come with some benefits, but it also has its downsides.
Freelancing is flexible
Perhaps the biggest draw of freelance work is the flexibility that comes with it. You have the flexibility to set your own hours, work from anywhere, take time off, and work according to your own rules and for the clients you choose. These are just some of the benefits of working freelance.
However, freelancing is not a walk in the park. Freelancers often have to work more hours than they would prefer, and more commonly, they wish they could work more.
Being fully remote is a huge bonus for some, but doesn’t always work in reality. However, as internet coverage improves and technology becomes more powerful, this becomes easier.
You can’t often be picky with clients
As most freelancers will agree, you can’t always handpick your favorite clients and projects, and sometimes you just have to take what you can find. That being said, once you make a name for yourself, it is more than possible to become a go-to name in the industry.
Great earning potential
A successful freelancer can continuously elevate their earnings higher and higher, above what you’d expect as an employee in an instructional designer role. While this is indeed true, freelancing doesn’t guarantee the safety of a fixed salary.
Moreover, being self-employed or a small business owner involves all the extra work and administrative tasks associated with the entrepreneurship needed to keep things running. Lastly, a freelancer also needs to be their own advertiser in order to find new projects and clients.
A more traditional ‘job,’ on the other hand, comes with all the perks you’d expect. Among them are a workplace environment with colleagues to socialize with, work benefits, a salary, promotion opportunities, pay raises, professional experience, and so on. The choice is a personal one.
All in all, there are many types of career paths in the realm of instructional design. No matter which sector, industry, specialization, or work approach you choose to focus on, there are many learning design opportunities out there and plenty of ways to be successful.
13 Instructional Design Careers
This is our list of 13 of the most in-demand and exciting instructional design careers that are hiring right now, with positions available for candidates both with and without experience.
1. Instructional Designer
Required level of education: Bachelor’s degree
Experience needed: None
Responsibilities: Create effective instructional materials; liaise with SMEs; manage learning.
Estimated annual salary: $65,000 – $100,000
The most common job title for this career is that of instructional designer.
As we discussed previously, instructional designers are tasked with creating the material that will be used to deliver training. It is their job to make sure that these materials are made to effectively deliver the learning aims intended.
They draw on their knowledge and experience of learning theory, education design, psychology, and creative writing in order to deliver the best learning materials possible. The role doesn’t traditionally involve any teaching, just developing the learning experience.
Instructional designers can have a wide range of responsibilities.
While not every learning designer will necessarily be assigned all of these responsibilities, you might need to undertake any combination of them. They can include:
Brainstorming and pitching training plans; setting out learning goals; interviewing subject matter experts; designing instructional materials; creating assessments; delivering training; reviewing training; managing ongoing learning; and teaching learning design.
There are many instructional designer positions hiring around the world.
You can find entry-level ID roles and those that are more senior. This role is available across corporate, government, academic, and nonprofit organizations, and there are even businesses that specialize in providing learning design to companies.
Most entry-level instructional designer positions will expect candidates to have at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field and will give preference to those with a master’s.
That being said, however, a non-related degree and relevant experience can prove sufficient.
Hiring companies actually want to see if you have a proven ability to design instructional content. Obviously, a history in a similar position is a great way to showcase that, but it isn’t the only way.
As mentioned previously, it’s possible to land your first learning design job by studying the principles of learning theory and effective learning design. Add to this a proven ability to use authoring toolkits, and you have all that ’s necessary to apply for these positions.
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2. Instructional Coordinator or Curriculum Developer
Required level of education: Bachelor’s degree
Experience needed: Less than 5 years (teaching experience preferred)
Responsibilities: Design curricula, develop learning materials, and liaise with educators
Estimated annual salary: $58,000 – $78,000
This position can be referred to by two different job titles, but it’s basically the same position.
A curriculum developer is tasked with creating new or improving existing curricula for educational institutions and organizations in order to improve the overall learning that is delivered by these groups.
An instructional coordinator’s job is to supervise both the development and implementation of an educational plan. This could be the curriculum in a school, university, or other educational organization.
The role could also involve being responsible for learning across multiple institutions.
Coordinators will need to evaluate, monitor, and work closely with educators, designers, and management in order to maximize the effectiveness of an organization’s learning.
While most corporations may not have a dedicated instructional coordinator, these positions are often vital for educational institutions and organizations. The need for these organizations to have a coordinated approach to their learning is paramount.
Instructional or learning coordinators can wear many hats.
As a learning coordinator, you will probably find yourself developing learning philosophies and strategies on an organization-wide basis. You’ll work with educators and executive officers to develop and implement learning strategies.
To qualify for a position as an instructional coordinator, you’ll need a formal education, at least a bachelor’s, but preferably a master’s degree. Learning coordinators often come from a background of working in education as teachers or in school administration roles.
A strong experience in the delivery of education is important.
As you’ll be overseeing the implementation of curricula or supervising teaching standards, it makes sense that what is required is experience in educational institutions.
This position might be attractive to experienced teachers looking to take the next challenge in their educational career or school administrators with an exceptional knowledge of teaching practices and curriculum development.
3. Educational Support Coordinator
Required level of education: Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred)
Experience needed: Less than 5 years (teaching experience preferred)
Responsibilities: Identify learning needs, design support systems, coordinate educational support, and liaise with educators
Estimated annual salary: $60,000 – $95,000
Similar to the previous role, this job focuses on coordination; not curricula or educational content, but educational support.
The first thing to understand is what support means.
Educational support essentially means supporting learners to access education. Some learners require more support than others in order to access the same education, and every student requires some support.
Every learner is a human being and is therefore different.
Many organizations, especially educational ones, are making huge advances in their understanding of diversity and inclusion. Part of this trend is developing ways to support a wider range of learners to access education.
All over the world, many schools, colleges, universities, and other organizations have entire departments dedicated to educational support, and of course, these approaches need coordination.
The coordinator’s role can take on a number of responsibilities, such as identifying the distinct needs of learners across the institution. This may not just be learning needs, but depending on a wide range of diverse factors, any learner may require some kind of support in accessing their education.
Coordinators may have a hand in the development of support practices and materials in order to help learners or might be required to lead in the improvement of existing support. Reviewing and assessing the implementation of education support is perhaps their chief responsibility.
Working in educational support can be one of the most rewarding careers.
Anyone who works in educational support will confirm that these environments can be some of the most demanding, yet fulfilling, places to work. Due to the diversity of interactions with learners who have any number of support needs, this is never a dull job.
Educational support coordinators need to have a thorough knowledge of best practices when it comes to educational support. Every learner requires a unique support approach.
4. Educational Technology Specialist
Required level of education: Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred)
Experience needed: Less than 5 years (teaching experience preferred)
Responsibilities: Coordinate a digital strategy for learning, facilitate access to technology, and develop technological education
Estimated annual salary: $45,000 – $90,000
An educational technology specialist is responsible for the facilitation of technology in education. They are tasked with the use of both software and hardware in educational circumstances. But what does that mean?
Effectively, the role involves coordinating the use of technology for education.
Depending on the organization, the role, and other factors, this job can have a number of different responsibilities and activities associated with it. For example, you may be overseeing technological education in a school or being in charge of the laptops at a university.
Some technology specialists will be responsible for technological education and will therefore need to devise lessons based on the use of technology or create entire curricula around new and future technologies.
For these roles, educational theory and experience are essential.
In other roles, the position will mostly focus on how technology can be incorporated into all education within an organization. Here, the role mostly involves coordinating with educators and education specialists to facilitate the use of technology in learning.
This can involve both software and hardware.
Part of the job is keeping abreast of the latest developments and trends in the tech industry. As corporations release new programs and devices, your job is to think about how these new technologies can be implemented in education.
The skills associated with this role are, of course, understanding technology and teaching best practices, as the job essentially involves joining the two.
Technology in education is incredibly important.
Not only do learners need to master the use of new technologies as they are developed, so they can go on to be productive professionals, but understanding how these new technologies can improve our everyday lives is crucial too.
Moreover, technology improves how teachers teach and how students learn.
No matter the subject or level of study, technology is a diverse tool that can massively affect the delivery and effectiveness of learning. For these reasons, this role is quite important and a great career choice, as almost every educational institution will benefit from the profession.
5. Assistant Director, Educational Technology
Required level of education: Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred)
Experience needed: 5 years (teaching experience preferred)
Responsibilities: Coordinate a digital learning strategy, facilitate access to technology, develop technological education, and lead the department
Estimated annual salary: $60,000 – $105,000
Similar to the previous job role, this one is all about the facilitation of technology within education. However, while some educational institutions may only be large enough to hire one or a handful of specialists, some institutions need entire departments.
Such organizations, like colleges and universities, need an institution-wide approach.
Within these educational technology teams exist a number of roles, including those of specialists, but also of directors and assistant directors. Their jobs are to oversee the implementation of technology in education on a broader scale.
The director or assistant director will be charged with coordinating the entire educational technology policy throughout the organization and, therefore, with managing the department, as big as it might be.
For this reason, educational technology directors also need to be good leaders.
As well as the skills and experience with both education and technology that are required for the educational technology specialist role, directors will need to be good managers and leaders.
Not many educational design roles involve such superiority, but for those with the skills and desire to lead a team, being a director can be the perfect job. Team leadership and individual management are essential for such positions.
These types of positions are filled by those with the most experience in the industry.
To be responsible for an entire department within an educational organization usually requires a significant amount of experience in the world of education. You will be responsible not only for the department but for organization-wide policy and implementation as well.
With such levels of responsibility come the usual benefits and job perks, as well as very competitive salaries. This is the perfect position for an experienced educator and technology specialist.
6. Corporate Trainer
Required level of education: Bachelor’s Degree
Experience needed: None
Responsibilities: Develop training, deliver training, and manage training outcomes.
Estimated annual salary: $45,000 – $70,000
A corporate trainer’s main function is to deliver training.
Depending on the size of the organization, your responsibilities could be as straightforward as that. To deliver the training that has been devised or sourced to the employees who need to receive it.
However, a corporate trainer’s job is not so simple.
Alongside the delivery of training, corporate trainers will need to keep up to date with the latest in educational practices and with the technology used to facilitate learning. What’s more, corporate trainers will need to be self-aware and always look to improve their craft.
Corporate trainers will also more than likely need to be deeply involved in the management of learning, assessing learning outcomes, and taking an active role in the learner’s experience. It’s not as simple as standing in front of a PowerPoint presentation and reading slides.
Corporate trainers are often involved in learning development.
In most organizations, the role will require some involvement in the development of learning materials and LMS management. Trainers will often have multiple responsibilities outside of just the delivery of the content.
There are also many corporate training agencies that facilitate learning across many, or specific, industries. In such cases, corporate trainers can find themselves being the sole person responsible for an entire learning project.
The roles and responsibilities of a corporate trainer depend on the sector, industry, and scope of their position.
7. Training and Development Specialist
Required level of education: Bachelor’s Degree
Experience needed: Less than 5 years
Responsibilities: Create, develop, and implement training.
Estimated annual salary: $60,000 – $70,000
The role of a training and development specialist is to facilitate the training and development of employees.
For most organizations, this will involve a number of responsibilities, including assessing training needs, developing training materials, and coordinating employee learning. In effect, this is a kind of catch-all for corporate learning.
Depending on the size of the organization, you might be expected to carry out some or all of the responsibilities yourself or as part of a team. It is also possible for members of a training and development team to specialize their roles for better productivity.
Training and development specialists can work on a wide range of topics. This can include onboarding and role-specific training, but also organization-wide policy training for things like diversity and inclusion, codes of ethics, health and safety, and leadership.
Any organization across multiple industries and sectors can employ such specialists, and one of the key attractions of the role is the diversity of learning that you will be able to deliver. As such, training and development specialists often need to have a broad set of skills.
First and foremost, you should be a good learner.
Training and development specialists need to be expert educators, but will often benefit from strong knowledge and skills in the various areas that they will be delivering learning in.
While this presents an initial challenge, it can be incredibly rewarding.
These specialists spend their working hours developing a wide range of skills and knowledge bases across multiple topics and industries. If you are curious and a good learner, this could be the perfect role for you.
It’s common for training and development specialists to specialize in a specific industry. In this case, a strong background in such an industry is of great value. If you have such experience and are looking for a career change, then this may be the right step.
Depending on the needs of the organization and industry, you might need a good deal of experience.
On the other hand, if you are an able educator and a quick learner, then you might find that a lack of experience doesn’t hold you back.
8. Academic Technology Specialist
Required level of education: Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred)
Experience needed: 2-5 years (teaching experience preferred)
Responsibilities: Coordinate a digital strategy for learning, facilitate access to technology, and develop technological education
Estimated annual salary: $45,000 – $90,000
Similar to an educational technology specialist, this role consists of facilitating and supporting the proficient use of technology in an academic setting, in line with the organization’s digital strategy.
Academia is a sector that is sometimes slow to adapt to technological changes.
However, in recent years and due to the recent pandemic, many educational institutions are investing in technology at a newly invigorated pace.
And so, more than ever before, there is a significant demand for technology specialists within academia. Many academic organizations around the world are looking to revolutionize the way they use technology in learning and are therefore hiring.
As an academic technology specialist, you will find that your responsibilities mostly comprise developing and implementing a strategy for incorporating technology into learning within an academic setting.
Understandably, this may result in a wide range of roles and tasks.
Technology specialists are required to work with academic staff and students in order to identify the needs and opportunities where technology can best be used to facilitate learning and then devise strategies to capitalize on these opportunities.
Implementing these strategies is the next step.
This role requires a combination of fundamental educational knowledge and an understanding of technology and its use cases. It is your job to put these two together to create and deliver a harmonious approach to improving learning through technology.
With recent innovations in communications and especially AI technology, it is paramount that academia stays ahead of the curve and utilizes technology to educate people for the modern and future worlds.
This is a highly sought-after role.
For those who want to make the most of their interest in knowledge of the latest technology, and have a love of learning or the educational process, this role is a great fit. You will find yourself working with both software and hardware in an academic environment.
A background in education is a strong bonus, but not essential. What is key is an understanding and demonstration of how technology can and could be used to facilitate improved learning.
9. Assistant Director of eLearning Development
Required level of education: Master’s Degree
Experience needed: 5 years
Responsibilities: Lead a development team, coordinate learning strategies, develop learning projects, and oversee training across organizations
Estimated annual salary: $65,000 – $105,000
As with the previous assistant director position, this role involves leadership.
A director or assistant director of eLearning is tasked with providing leadership to an entire eLearning team or even a department, depending on the size of the organization. As such, both leadership and management qualities are important for this role.
Moreover, directors and assistant directors need exceptional knowledge of teaching best practices and effective learning design. While a director may not be spending much time developing instructional design, they are responsible for it.
For this reason, they need excellent experience.
A director is ultimately responsible for the instructional design that is performed by the designers, the learning delivered by specialists, and the overall coordination of the learning process within an organization.
As you can imagine, depending on the size and scope of an organization, the director of eLearning can have an incredibly substantial role and impact on the success of the organization as a whole.
For these reasons, companies look for two things:
Companies hiring for eLearning directors are looking for those with the ability to lead and manage people, and they are looking for those with a wealth of experience in the instructional industry. If you match this description, then this could be the role for you.
Obviously, in this case, organizations are only looking for those further along in their careers, but smaller organizations may have to opt for younger instructional professionals too, depending on the industry and other circumstances.
This is also a role that can require innovation.
Directors and assistant directors of eLearning development also need to keep abreast of the latest industry trends in order to adapt them to an ever-learning environment. Good leaders are always looking for ways to improve the productivity of their team.
Directors who stay at the cutting edge of learning design can make the difference between a successful company and a failing one.
10. Distance Learning Specialist
Required level of education: Bachelor’s degree
Experience needed: Less than 5 years (teaching experience preferred)
Responsibilities: Develop eLearning strategy, design instructional material, and implement distance learning
Estimated annual salary: $45,000 – $65,000
A distance learning specialist oversees online learning for an organization.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, when many educational institutions – from schools to universities – had to cope with moving all of their learning online, distance learning has become a huge challenge and opportunity.
For this reason, more and more organizations are hiring distance learning specialists in order to meet the challenge of remote learning.
Not only is distance learning a necessity, but it can also offer a great opportunity for better learning access alongside in-person or on-site teaching. Distance learning can open up access to education for a far more extensive group of people.
Distance learning can be incredibly accessible.
For example, those who wish to study in a location that is not viable for them to relocate or commute to can gain tremendous benefits from distance learning. Likewise, those with limited time for education can learn at a distance more easily.
Moreover, educational organizations can reach a wider pool of students via distance learning and save on a broad range of costs associated with on-site learning.
Hybrid learning is likely to be the future of education.
While distance learning is not an ideal replacement for on-site teaching, it is probable that more and more institutions will envisage a hybrid system in which both forms of learning can be maximized to provide the best overall education for the resource’s cost.
This means that more and more organizations will be on the lookout for talented individuals to develop and implement an effective distance learning strategy.
Distance learning specialists can expect to fulfill many of the roles of a learning specialist.
What makes the role unique is the factor of distance learning. The exact same principles of learning theory, design theory, and learning management all need to be applied in this job, but with the scope of applying that to a distance learning environment.
For this reason, a good understanding of the available communication technology is paramount.
11. Learning Director
Required level of education: Master’s Degree
Experience needed: 5-10 years
Responsibilities: Lead the development team, coordinate learning strategies, develop learning projects, oversee training across organizations
Estimated annual salary: $70,000 – $120,000
A learning director is the head of an organization’s learning and development department.
The director’s role is to oversee the entire process of a company’s learning and development. Within educational organizations, this role can understandably have a huge influence over the entire organization. Even in a business, the learning director is incredibly important.
Every organization has skill gaps.
A learning director’s role is to lead the effort to close those gaps and prepare for future gaps. This requires that the learning director has a wealth of instructional experience and great knowledge of all the latest developments and trends in the learning industry.
As a director, you will also need to stay ahead of the curve, plan for the future learning requirements of your organization, and be prepared for innovations in technology and educational theories.
Depending on the size of the organization, a director of learning may or may not have a team or even an entire department to direct.
With this comes a greater deal of responsibility and, of course, challenges.
A director needs to be a great person, leader, and manager, in order to get the most out of their team. Not only that, but the role of the director often involves collaboration and liaising with third-party organizations, clients, or other departments.
No department of a business can act as if it were in a vacuum.
As such, directors will benefit from strong interpersonal skills and a healthy amount of corporate experience. In larger organizations, learning directors may also have to manage learning across different locations and even countries, all challenges that need to be overcome.
Other responsibilities that can fall within the scope of the director’s duties include managing budgets and other common necessities for leading a department in a corporate structure. While the role can involve a number of responsibilities, there are certainly sizable benefits.
The learning director role represents a common career goal for many instructional designers.
For those who want to leverage their years of experience, interpersonal skills, and knowledge of the industry to land a senior position, this is the role to eventually aim for.
12. Educational Technologist
Required level of education: Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred)
Experience needed: Less than 5 years (teaching experience preferred)
Responsibilities: coordinate a digital strategy for learning, facilitate access to technology, develop technological education
Estimated annual salary: $45,000 – $90,000
An educational technologist, much like an educational technology specialist, is tasked with bringing the world of technology to facilitate the learning process. This job title is most often used for the education sector, so it pertains mostly to schools and colleges.
The role of the technologist is to implement a strategy for integrating technology into learning.
This can obviously be accomplished in different ways, so the educational technologist can have several different tasks.
Much like other instructional design positions, you may find yourself designing and developing eLearning material for use by the organization. The development of these kinds of resources is paramount for effective education in modern organizations.
As with any role involving technology, staying up to date on the latest trends and innovations is one key to success. Another is a comprehensive understanding of learning theories and how the use of technology can improve the learning process.
Technologists work with both software and hardware that can enhance learning.
One aspect of the role can be the introduction, management, and analysis of an LMS (learning management system). Many educational organizations today use such systems to manage all of the eLearning associated with the organization.
This can be both for the students and staff.
As an educational technologist, your responsibilities could include the daily management of such a system.
The responsibilities don’t stop there. Depending on the size of the organization, you may well be tasked with a more comprehensive overview of the eLearning aspect of the institution. This could involve creating materials, projects, and even courses.
Devising an entire eLearning course can be a long and difficult process, so the position may require strong educational knowledge and robust learning design skills. If the combination of learning design and technology sounds like the right match for you, then this could be your next role.
13. Curriculum Specialist
Required level of education: Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred)
Experience needed: Less than 5 years (teaching experience preferred)
Responsibilities: Develop curricula, design learning projects, liaise with educators, and review learning outcomes
Estimated annual salary: $65,000 – $90,000
The role of the curriculum specialist is, as the name suggests, to develop a curriculum.
Every educational organization will need at least one, if not many, curriculum specialists, whose job it is to build, adapt, and review the curricula that the organization implements. Every teacher needs a curriculum, and every curriculum needs a specialist.
K-12 teachers, university professors, and all other educators have a demanding job, teaching their students and endlessly preparing lessons, among any other responsibilities they have passed to them.
A curriculum specialist is there to enhance efficiency and maximize learning.
By removing the need for teachers to develop their own curriculum, they can have more time to spend on what their role actually is – teaching. The curriculum specialist can take on the responsibility of reviewing, updating, improving, and designing curricula.
As such, the curriculum specialist needs to have excellent knowledge of instructional theory and, of course, learning design. Specialists not only need to think about what information or content will be taught in the organization, but also think about how it will be taught.
A curriculum specialist may need to be a competent instructional designer.
While teaching materials may still be designed by educators in some organizations, a curriculum specialist who can design effective learning materials or at least envisage the potential for effective learning materials will be very successful.
This role is usually only found in educational and academic institutions and is likely to suit those with experience in teaching or a background in education. Professionals with these backgrounds will have a wealth of knowledge of classroom teaching, which allows them to design suitable curricula.
A curriculum specialist will also need to be a strong communicator. This is because the job revolves around designing the curriculum that others will need to deliver, so a good relationship with these educators is paramount. Moreover, you will need to deliver with regard to the overall learning strategy of the entire organization, meaning you will need to keep those higher-up content.
FAQ
The following are some of the most frequently asked questions about instructional design careers:
Do you need a certificate or a master’s degree?
The short answer is “no,” but it’s a great place to start.
One of the fundamental skills of an instructional designer is learning theory, and this can be acquired through an accredited institution like a university. There are many such courses available at different institutions.
A Master’s degree in the field will cover all of the basics of learning design and provide an opportunity to network with other students and staff members.
Certificates are great, but know-how is better.
The two key components of an instructional designer that companies will look for are an understanding of educational theory and proficiency with authoring tools. If you can demonstrate these two things, then you stand a chance of getting hired.
So how do you acquire this knowledge?
Well, as for the theory side of things, there are many online courses you can take at your own pace, join the ID community to get suggestions, or follow our guide that’s linked below.
As for authoring tools and being able to actually create the learning materials, this takes practice. If you have access to an authoring tool through your workplace or decide to sign up for a subscription or free trial, then you can gain the skills that way.
So, while certificates and master’s degrees are not the be-all and end-all, if you have the time and resources to complete one, it will stand you in good stead.
Read more: The 18 Best Instructional Design Certificate Programs and Courses for 2024
How can you get an instructional design job with no experience?
A background in education or eLearning can go a long way, but it’s not the only way.
It is possible to secure a position as an instructional designer without any prior experience in a similar role. What you need to do is show that you have the two fundamental components of instructional design at your disposal.
These are, of course, learning theory and learning design.
You need to show that you understand how people learn and how to design things that help people learn. Simple enough, but how can you do that?
As we mentioned earlier, the first involves taking a course or online learning on educational theory. For the second, again, there are many online courses or free resources to learn design principles.
Once you’ve learned your stuff, you then need to show it.
To demonstrate your ability as an instructional designer, you will need a portfolio of some examples of materials that you have created, in order to show a prospective employer that you know what you’re doing.
Read more: How to Create an Instructional Design Portfolio that Makes You Shine
And that’s it. With these two things, you can start applying for instructional designer roles.
Note also that you can look for some real experience through your current employer by asking to get involved with any training that occurs. You can also volunteer in many organizations looking for people to help design and deliver education.
Read more: How to Become an Instructional Designer: A Comprehensive Guide
What’s the best tool to learn instructional design?
There are a number of tools that can be used for instructional design.
One strategy is to simply learn the most popular design tool, Articulate Storyline 360. This is the most popular tool among instructional designers because of its balance of functionality and usability. The benefit of picking up this software is that most employers will be using it as well.
Having said that, there are other tools you can learn to use, and the same principles of design can be applied to them all. No matter which software the organization hiring you uses, if you can design instructional material, then you can design instructional material.
What is important, however, is proficiency.
Picking up a new authoring tool can take time. Some of the more precise tools and functions of authoring toolkits take some getting used to, and to become efficient in your authoring will require a strong understanding of the possibilities and limitations of the software.
Luckily, most authoring tools offer generous free trial periods, which can give you ample time to get used to how they work and also create some of your own learning materials to showcase your skills.
It’s not a bad idea to learn the basics of several authoring tools.
Another key point is to understand the principles behind how an LMS works. Almost every organization will need to use one, and part of your job will be to use it, so it’s imperative you can do so effectively.
Read more: 50+ Best Instructional Design Software Tools and Resources in 2024
Do you have to be creative to be an instructional designer?
Creativity is a skill that hugely benefits an instructional designer.
That being said, it is possible to make it as an instructional designer even if creativity isn’t your strongest skill. With a solid understanding of educational theory and learning design principles, you’ll be able to generate materials that meet the needs of your organization.
However, creativity is what separates the best instructional designers from the rest of the bunch. Creativity allows designers to think around problems in dynamic ways. It helps them picture learning solutions that will make the difference in closing skill gaps.
Creativity is a skill that you can improve on.
If you’re concerned that you aren’t creative enough to be a learning designer, then don’t worry, because just like any other skill, creativity can be developed. There are many online courses for improving creativity, or you can specifically work on eLearning design principles.
Read more: Instructional Design Principles: Keys to Authoring eLearning Content
A creative learning designer will always find ways to make their training fun.
Creativity is certainly a valuable skill for any designer, but there are ways to get around a lack of it. The online eLearning community is a lively and vibrant one, meaning you can find inspiration and take pointers from designers who are more creative than you.
Don’t think of it as copying your classmate’s homework. In our experience, the eLearning community is friendly and keen to share their experiences and practices in order to help fellow members of the industry.
Creativity is just one of the skills that instructional designers benefit from.
Read more: Top 5 Instructional Designer Skills
Where can I learn more about instructional design?
There are many ways to learn more about instructional design.
Perhaps the best place to start learning anything in the world today is on YouTube. This online video platform has a wealth of educational videos about all sorts of topics, including professional development. We wrote a guide on the best YouTube channels for learning instructional design, which you can access here: The 13 Best YouTube Channels on Instructional Design: Watch and Learn
Another place to read up on instructional design is the old-fashioned way, namely, books.
While not quite as cutting edge or fresh as online sources, published books are a great authority on the subject and can be a great source of information to get you started thinking about a transition to the industry.
Read more: The 21 Best Books on Instructional Design: Classics, Hidden Gems, and the Latest Bestsellers
If you want to learn from the best, follow the experts.
A great way to stay up to date on the latest trends in any industry is to follow and learn from industry experts. Those who have the best experience and most success in an industry often share their secrets with newcomers to the field.
All you have to do is follow the experts on LinkedIn or social media, read what they write online, or listen to them speak in interviews.
Read more: 35 Top eLearning Experts to Follow on LinkedIn
Lastly, you can read all about instructional design and get your head around the basics in our blog for beginners.
Read more: What Is Instructional Design?
Conclusion
Well, that’s it, our list of 13 instructional design careers to get into, whether you’re a seasoned learning designer or just starting out in the field. Regardless of your level of experience, you should be able to find the right career path and excel in instructional design.
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