Hi all,

I'm new here and I am just looking for information about the instructional design field. I am currently a secondary teacher and I am seeking a new path using my current skills. Are any of you former teachers?

I will be starting my master's program this summer. My undergrad is in Mass Communication and I also have experience as a copy editor and page designer for newspapers.

I guess I am just interested in what people in the field have to say to a potential newbie. Does my (lightly described) background sound workable? I've looked far and wide for my next move after teaching because sometimes it feels like public education is a world all its own. I wasn't sure what else I'm possibly qualified to do! But this field sounds like it is right up my alley.

What's the general salary like? What are your working conditions like? What skills are most pertinent in your opinion? Was it easy or difficult to find a job upon graduation? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I, too am a former teacher, who became an ID/course developer/trainer 20 years ago for...companies that created software for newspapers!

If you're interested in working for newspaper-related companies, check out the exhibitor list for Nexpo:

http://www.nexpo.com/exhibitor_map_list.cfm

Most companies I've worked for see ID as a luxury. A full-time ID is often the first to go in a layoff, if the company had IDs at all. Most course devs are expected to be IDs, too. Especially in newspaper-related companies, given the industry down-turn, be prepared to do a lot of traveling and classroom training with some course dev.

In other industries, much of ID/course dev is outsourced/offshored. Investigate working as a contractor for one of those course dev companies.

To get an idea of salaries, check out the jobs at Monster.com. (And by the way, I got my current job by posting my resume there!)

Formerteacher,

Welcome to the field. Starting a master's program is a great first step because you will become grounded in the fundamentals and will have discussion points as you embark on your job search. And to answer your question, there were several people with education backgrounds in my master's classes.

You will also need some industry experience. You might consider going to local ASTD chapter meetings and discussing your situation there. Sometimes independents are looking for part-time help or perhaps some of the members there will know of small contracts or pro bono work available. One of the industry leaders, Marc Rosenberg, says "get a success story, no matter how small." Successfully completing a few projects will help you in your job search, even if the client was the local gardening club.

With your background, a possible starting project avenue for you might be designing training that targets teachers as the audience.

Some IDs, like L. Bond, specialize in a particular industry and are successful with that. Others are generalists. I've always believed that if you are capable of designing sound instruction, then the training topic doesn't matter. In my 14 years in the field, I've designed training for software, healthcare, telecommunications, finance, manufacturing, ..., you get the idea. An economic downturn for one industry might mean a boon for another and you can always take your ID bag of tricks to where the new jobs are.

I agree with L. Bond that you could take either the employee or the contractor path. There are plenty of companies out there that employ their own IDs. Some have only a few (or one) and some have large departments (Home Depot and Cingular Wireless, for example, are local here and both have 60+). On the flip side, you could join one of the consulting firms or placement agencies as a contractor and end up working at one of the companies that have chosen to outsource the learning function. You'll be amazed at how many of the massive companies have only a small number of training employees; they outsource pretty much everything. But that's great too because it creates work for contractors.

As for travel, many ID jobs I'm familiar with require only minimal travel if any at all. That's something you can determine if you want to do or not during your job search and plan accordingly. Each company will be different.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have other questions.

Jay

Well, I was looking into doing work for the university I'm going to because they have an ID department and look for "assitants." Being a teacher, I also have the summer off to do work on the side, but how much experience would I need to have to be taken seriously by a contractor/consulting/freelance type?

I plan to graduate in the spring of 2009. I will have an internship next summer (the school I'm going to has a lot of internship opportunities posted on the program website). I am in the Orlando area.

It sounds to me like you're well on your way to being in good shape. By working with the university's ID department and having an internship next summer, you will be able to discuss projects and provide samples during interviews. I'm sure there are plenty of places that would take a chance on you with that small but in the field experience plus your master's degree and education background.

If you want to sweeten your credentials, then side projects you can pick up wouldn't hurt. And join the Orlanda ASTD chapter. Many hiring companies expect you to be involved because it shows you have an interest in what's going on in the field.

Good luck,

Jay