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Maybe you just left a teaching job after feeling burnout from working long hours and you're looking for work-life balance. Or maybe you're looking for the next step in your learning-focused career.

Instructional design (ID) is a great way for teachers, educators, and people from many other career fields to apply their skills in a new role.

Step 1: Is instructional design is for you?

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You are a great fit for ID roles if you don't mind:

  • Writing lessons with learning objectives (LOs)

  • Applying learning theories into practical learning experiences

  • Using technology,like learning management systems (LMS) and design tools

  • Working on a team with clients, designers, and subject matter experts (SMEs)

  • Work-life balance, where you might have a more flourishing personal life

Did you know?

The average salary in the United States for IDs is about $72,857 USD per year, which often comes with benefits, such as health insurance, for full-time employees at certain companies.

Step 2: Master the theories

A middle-aged feminine person with business casual clothing is watching instructional videos on computer in study room.

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Master relevant learning theories. Depending on the industry that you're passionate about, you'll have to master specific learning theories. Here, we'll focus on adult learning theories.

Step 3: Develop projects

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Develop projects to show your skills. Recruiters expect to see a portfolio website or documents. Do you have projects from previous roles that you can re-use?

Your projects must show:

  • Needs analysis to determine client needs and goals

  • Action mapping or brainstorming ideas

  • Storyboarding your scenario-based project with relatable characters

  • Application of theories that you mastered

  • Design visuals with technical skills in software and programs

  • A final product to show all your skills

Step 4: Create your personal brand

Three diverse individuals in business casual are brand designing. They're moving letters on a monitor that spell out 'BRAND'.

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There are a lot of awesome things about you. What specific projects do you like? If you were a brand, what would you look like?

Create your own personal brand by:

  • Exploring your favorites, like colors, fonts, illustration styles, and layouts

  • Applying user experience (UX) design best practices, especially in accessibility

  • Creating professional media, like headshots, business cards and logos

  • Writing your down your values and sticking to them!

Step 5: Construct a portfolio

A masculine person with business casual clothing is creating a portfolio on a big monitor with touch screen showing images.

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You don't need to know how to code to make a portfolio website. There are plenty of sites where you can choose pre-made options to fit your needs.

Construct a wonderful digital portfolio website with one of the following:

Did you know?

Not all website-building sites require a subscription or cost. For example, Google Sites is a platform that is accessible, easy-to-use for the average tech user, and free or low-cost for website-building.

Step 6: Practice networking

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Grow with your professional contacts. Today, we are expected to connect digitally on online platforms for professional development and maybe get a job referral! Connect with curriculum developers, instructional designers, learning specialists, and technologists.

Practice daily or weekly professional networking by:

  • Making new connections by requesting, following, and messaging a short hello

  • Creating professional relevant posts with your new certifications and favorite designs

  • Nurturing your current connections to grow with your colleagues

  • Joining communities, such as Facebook groups, Slack channels or discord servers

Did you know?

According 2015 data by LinkedIn, the best way to get a job is through a professional contact referral. Simply applying to jobs is not enough to guarantee an interview or job offer.

Step 7: Prepare for interviews

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It is okay to have interview anxiety. Think of a time where things appeared to not be working out and then somehow they did. Know that you got this!

Learn how to interview for ID roles by:

Examples of transferrable work skills:

  • Analyzing training needs = classroom lesson planning

  • Key performance indicators (KPIs) = learning objectives and goals

  • Learner personas = student personalities and backgrounds

  • Assessment results = quiz or exam performance

Quiz

You decide to transition into an instruction designer career after teaching K-12 science for 10 years. You're worried because you don't have a specific ID degree. What are some of your options?

Did you know?

Not all instructional designers have a degree specific to this field. Company job postings outside of the academic field often don't require a formal degree. Many instructional designers transitioned from different career backgrounds, such as teachers, college professors, and scientists.

Take Action

A smiling feminine-presenting person is celebrating and crossing a finish line in a sports wheel chair with arms raised.

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It's time to celebrate your goal and work towards becoming an instructional designer!

License:

This Byte has been authored by

MC

Melissa Carrillo-Galaviz

Instructional Designer & Accessibility Specialist

Master of Science (MSc)

English

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