PowerPoint Presentation

grad.uchicago.edu

Careers in Instructional Design

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview 1

Common Job Duties 2

Common Required Skills 2

How Graduate Skills Translate 2

Possible Job Titles 3

Steps You Can Take to Prepare 3

Finding Job Postings 4

Applying for Positions 4

Interviewing for Positions 4

Resources for Further Study 5

11%

0% 5% 10% 15%

Total, All Occupations

Other Education,

Training, and Library

Occupations

Instructional

Coordinators

Projected Percent Growth in

Employment, 2016-2026

OVERVIEW

Instructional designers specialize in

educational curriculum design and

implementation. They are pedagogical

specialists informed by theories of

learning, teaching, and assessment who

work in a variety of academic, nonprofit,

and commercial settings. They might

work with faculty members to create

online versions of college courses, or they

may consult with leading companies to

develop employee training materials.

Many of the best instructional designers

started their careers as teachers, so if you

enjoy teaching and curriculum design,

this may be a career for you.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment outlook for instructional

designers in strong, with an 11 percent increase in positions expected between 2016 and

2026. The median annual wage was $63,750 in 2017. UChicago graduate students and

postdocs will also be glad to know that many hiring managers prefer instructional

designers with graduate degrees.

grad.uchicago.edu

COMMON JOB DUTIES

 Develop and coordinate the

implementation of curricula

 Assess student needs and discuss the

implementation of appropriate

pedagogical strategies with teachers

or clients

 Review and recommend textbooks,

guides, and other educational

materials

 Recommend teaching techniques and

the use of various technologies

 Plan, organize, and conduct client or

employee trainings

 Analyze student data and test scores

to assess learning

 Train teachers and other instructional

staff in new content or programs

 Mentor or coach teachers to improve

their skills

Adapted from the Bureau of Labor Statistics “What

Instructional Coordinators Do,” 2017.

COMMON REQUIRED SKILLS

 Teaching skills, especially the ability to

design and execute curricula

 Strong curiosity and an ability to quickly

learn new things

 Excellent written and oral communication

skills

 Strong project management skills

 Strong problem solving skills

 Some visual design skills

 Ability to work independently as well as

collaboratively with others

 Knack for building relationships with

teachers or clients

 Knowledge of or willingness to learn

course development applications & tools

(e.g. Lectora Inspire, Articulate Storyline)

 Working knowledge of WebEx or other

tools used for synchronous learning

 Familiarity with MS Word, Excel,

PowerPoint

HOW DO GRADUATE SKILLS TRANSLATE TO INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN?

Instructional design is a great fit for advanced-degree candidates, especially Ph.D.

candidates with teaching experience. Your background in course design, syllabus

development, and instructional technology puts you on solid footing toward this career.

The best-positioned candidates have a broad range of teaching experiences and

pedagogical practices. They have used technology in the classroom, and they are familiar

with blended teaching environments and course management tools such as Canvas or

Blackboard. They are also good at analyzing student needs, clarifying learning goals, and

selecting appropriate learning tools or methods.

Beyond teaching, advanced-degree candidates bring several other useful skills and habits

of mind to instructional design. As a result of having to throw yourself into new subjects

and quickly get up to speed, you are likely good at learning new things. This will be an

asset when working with clients or professors to design learning materials for subjects in

which you are a novice. Because you’ve managed complex research projects, you have

experience with problem solving, communication, and project management.

grad.uchicago.edu

UChicago advanced-degree candidates will not be the only applicants competing for

instructional design positions, of course. Job seekers with M.A. and Ph.D. degrees directly

in the field of instructional design are a natural fit, as are job seekers with degrees in

education, composition and rhetoric, and other pedagogy-focused courses of study.

UChicago applicants with research degrees will need to articulate exactly how you have

built your own pedagogical practice outside the bounds of your narrow field. You’ll also

need to have a compelling reason (a “pull” factor) that explains why you are moving from

being a burgeoning academic to being an instructional designer.

 Instructional Designer or

Coordinator

 Curriculum Developer

 Educational Support

Coordinator

 Educational Technology

Specialist

 Assistant Director,

Educational Technology

 Corporate Trainer

 Training and Development

Specialist

 Academic Technology

Specialist

 Assistant Director of

eLearning Development

 Distance Learning

Specialist

 Learning Director

 Educational Technologist

 Curriculum Specialist

POSSIBLE JOB TITLES

 Teach often and in different formats. Experiment with

adult education by teaching a course at the Graham

School, or experiment with online education by applying

to teach an online course at another university.

 Take advantage of the pedagogical training offered by

the Chicago Center for Teaching. Consider becoming a

CCT Teaching Fellow to gain experience educating

other teachers.

 Attend Canvas training and other sessions offered by

Academic Technology Solutions.

 Develop an online teaching portfolio.

 Schedule informational interviews with professionals

working in the field.

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE NOW TO PREPARE FOR THIS CAREER

 Attend a conference for instructional design professionals, or read online about trends

in the field (see the list of associations and resources at the end of this guide).

 Take an online course to experience instructional design from a student’s vantage point.

grad.uchicago.edu
4
FINDING JOB POSTINGS
 Instructional Technology and Design Page at HigherEdJobs.com
 Job Board at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology
 Job Board at the Association for Talent Development
 Job Board at the Int. Soc. for Technology in Education
 Job Board at InstructionalDesign.org
 Job Board at ELearningIndustry.com
 Using the “possible job titles” on the previous page as keywords, search common 
industry job sites, such as Glassdoor, Indeed, Monster, and LinkedIn
APPLYING FOR INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN POSITIONS
You’ll need a resume and cover letter to apply to instructional design positions, and these 
documents should prioritize your teaching experience over your research experience 
(unless your research is directly relevant to education or e-learning). Using the job 
advertisement as a guide, discuss your experience with college-level teaching and syllabus 
design in terms that would be familiar to the hiring manager.  For instance, you might refer 
to your classes as “modules” if that word appears often in the job advertisement. You may 
also wish to emphasize any previous experiences with teamwork or administration. Above 
all, identify yourself as a generalist, rather than a specialist in one academic subject.
For some instructional design positions, you may also need to provide work samples. You 
can find examples of online instructional design portfolios via this e-Learning article.  
These portfolios differ from the digital teaching portfolios that you might develop for the 
academic job market. Instructional design portfolios often use case studies to demonstrate 
your design process, laying out a learning challenge, the solution that you developed, and 
the results of your intervention.
INTERVIEWING FOR INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN POSITIONS
Interviews for instructional design (ID) positions typically involve behavioral questions:
 Tell me about yourself. Have you worked as anything other than an ID?
 What is your design process?
 What kinds of deliverables have you produced?
 Tell me about a recent project.
 How will you ensure that you can work effectively with subject matter experts?
 What experience do you have in a collaborative environment?
 How do you measure the success of your course design?

grad.uchicago.edu
5
 How do you measure the success of your course design?
 Tell me about a time when you faced a challenge during an e-Learning project?
 How proficient are you with tools such as Captivate, Blackboard, Flash, and Breeze?
 How does your design address different learning abilities and styles?
 How do you stay informed about innovations in the field?
Adapted from “Top 12 Interview Questions to Ask Instructional Designers,” “How to Get Prepared for E-Learning Job Interview 
Questions,” and “Tips on Interviewing Instructional Designers.
Resources for Further Study
Professional Associations
 Association for Educational Communications and Technology (https://www.aect.org/)
 Online Training Consortium (https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/) 
 Association for Talent Development (https://www.td.org/) 
 International Society for Technology in Education (https://www.iste.org/) 
 The eLearning Guild (https://www.elearningguild.com/) 
 United States Distance Learning Association (https://usdla.org/) 
 International Society for Performance Improvement (https://www.ispi.org/) 
 EDUCAUSE (https://www.educause.edu/) 
 HASTAC: Humanities, Arts, Science, and Tech. Alliance and Collab. (https://www.hastac.org/) 
Personal Narratives
 Versatile Ph.D. provides narratives and job documents from academics who pursued careers in 
instructional design. Log into GRAD Gargoyle and click “Versatile Ph.D.” in the quick links. Then 
click the “E-Learning and Instructional Design” tab within the Ph.D. Career Finder. 
Campus Connections
 Chicago Center for Teaching (https://teaching.uchicago.edu)    
 Academic Technology Solutions (https://academictech.uchicago.edu/) 
Publications
 Training Magazine: The Source for Professional Development (https://trainingmag.com/)
 The American Journal of Distance Education (https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hajd20) 
 Kathryn E. Linder, The Blended Online Course Design Workbook, 2016.
 Marjorie Vai & Kristen Sosulski, Essentials of Online Course Design: A Standards-Based Guide, 2015.
 William J. Rothwell and Bud Benscoter, Mastering the Instructional Design Process: A Systematic 
Approach, 2015.
 Julie Dirksen, Design for How People Learn (2nd Edition), 2015.
 Robert A. Reiser & John V. Dempsey, Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology 
(4th Edition), 2017.