{"id":8927,"date":"2017-08-21T12:47:31","date_gmt":"2017-08-21T12:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/?p=8927"},"modified":"2025-09-19T14:47:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T12:47:55","slug":"how-to-become-instructional-designer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-become-instructional-designer\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Become an Instructional Designer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n            <!-- Responsive picture tag -->\n        <picture class=\"picture-block\">\n            <source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Instructional_Designer_Desktop.png\" >\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Instructional_Designer_Mobile.png\" alt=\"Instructional_Designer_Mobile\">\n        <\/picture>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p>The truth is, most Learning Designers &#8211; also known as Instructional Designers &#8211; never planned on moving into this industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may have a background in training and development, IT, copywriting or teaching but it\u2019s unlikely you ever thought you could, or would, combine all of these fields and the skills that come with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But with instructional technology in education revolutionising corporate training (more than 41% of Fortune 500 companies use some form of teaching with technology to train their employees<sup>1<\/sup>), the rise of teaching with technology online courses, and a movement to the integration of technology in education,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">instructional design is an in-demand career <\/a>for both the corporate, online education and higher education industries.<\/p>\n\n\n<div>\n            <!-- Responsive picture tag -->\n        <picture class=\"picture-block\">\n            <source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Quote_ISD-2.png\" >\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Quote_ISD-5.png\" alt=\"become an instructional designer 5\">\n        <\/picture>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-the-key-responsibilities-of-an-instructional-designer\"><strong>What are the key responsibilities of an Instructional Designer?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you\u2019ve got the tech skills or the teaching skills, with an estimated 5.8 million students enrolled in online courses<sup>2<\/sup>, and worldwide spending on corporate training amounting to $130 billion<sup>3<\/sup>, if you\u2019re willing to fill up the gaps in your knowledge,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/instructional-design-skill-set-benefit-career\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> investing in instructional design training<\/a>\u00a0could be a profitable next step in your career. You have the opportunity to marry your\u00a0teaching skills with\u00a0IT for education by focusing on ways to using technology in the classroom &#8211; whatever form it might take.<\/p>\n\n\n<div>\n            <!-- Responsive picture tag -->\n        <picture class=\"picture-block\">\n            <source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/ISD-Blog_ISD-1.png\" >\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/ISD-Blog_ISD-4.png\" alt=\"become an instructional designer 4\">\n        <\/picture>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-role-of-an-instructional-designer-can-be-nbsp-defined-by-the-following-responsibilities\"><br><strong>The role of an Instructional Designer can be&nbsp;defined by the following responsibilities:<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/products\/uct-copywriting-for-online-marketing-online-short-course\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Write effective copy<\/a>, instructional text, audio scripts and video scripts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Navigate and utilise a learning management system and other instructional technologies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conceptualise and plan an innovative course design and delivery<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have an understanding of related fields such as user experience design<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Understand how to work with augmented reality apps and tools, digital textbooks, gamification<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identify ways to integrate technology in education<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Interpret and communicate a variety of topics ranging from law to graphic design<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collaborate with subject matter experts as well as video and graphic teams<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Related Content:<\/strong> How an instructional design skill set could benefit your career<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/instructional-design-skill-set-benefit-career\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"43\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/buttons-02.png\" alt=\"become instructional designer 1\" class=\"wp-image-8928\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-the-career-path-of-an-instructional-designer\"><strong>What is the career path of an Instructional Designer?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Because this profession may emerge from a variety of backgrounds, there are opportunities for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/key-skills-of-an-instructional-designer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">skilled Instructional Designers <\/a>in a number of industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Tailoring online courses for a specific audience<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Take your tech or teaching skills into edtech organisations and use instructional and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">educational technology<\/a>\u00a0for teaching to build personalised, interactive and collaborative short courses that give working professionals access to flexible education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Building corporate training programmes<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Corporations continue to adopt elearning programs, currently at a rate of 13% per year<sup>4<\/sup>, which means many will look for in-house Instructional Designers who can turn their face-to-face training into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/instructional-design-corporate-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">engaging learning design programmes<\/a>\u00a0that make the most of technology\u00a0in education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Creating digital curriculums in higher education <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The traditional teacher can no longer contain their knowledge within the confines of Powerpoint presentations. Instructional Designers are able to fill this gap by bringing an expertise of&nbsp;technology in education in the form of superior quality media, technical software competencies and content writing skills, to be able to develop effective and engaging curriculums for students by using technology in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n<div>\n            <!-- Responsive picture tag -->\n        <picture class=\"picture-block\">\n            <source media=\"(min-width: 768px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Quote_ISD-3.png\" >\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Quote_ISD-6.png\" alt=\"become an instructional designer 8\">\n        <\/picture>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-is-the-potential-salary-for-an-instructional-designer\"><strong>What is the potential salary for an Instructional Designer?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Although Instructional Designers in the private sector can earn a great living, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the highest paid elearning professionals are those who are in federal government settings, with average earnings of $87,790 per year<sup>5<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Experience has a moderate effect on an Instructional Designer salary and you&#8217;re most likely to increase your earning potential by becoming competent in elearning software, have a good grasp of technology in education, as well as training and development management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Click on a country<\/strong> to see what you can expect to get paid as an Instructional Designer in either South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United States of America:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"show-for-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/graphics.getsmarter.com\/Blog+Post\/ISD\/publish\/web\/ISD+Line+graph.html\" width=\"970\" height=\"580\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"show-for-small-only\">\n<ul class=\"accordion\" data-accordion=\"\" data-allow-all-closed=\"true\">\n<li class=\"accordion-item is-active\" data-accordion-item=\"\"><a class=\"accordion-title\" href=\"#\">RSA<\/a>\n<div class=\"accordion-content\" data-tab-content=\"\">\n<table style=\"width: 100%; height: 96px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 32px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\">Entry-Level<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\"><strong>R188,824 <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 32px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\">Mid-Career<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\"><strong>R327,172<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 32px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\">15 Years Experience<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\"><strong>R469,704<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"accordion-item\" data-accordion-item=\"\"><a class=\"accordion-title\" href=\"#\">UK<\/a>\n<div class=\"accordion-content\" data-tab-content=\"\">\n<table style=\"width: 100%; height: 96px;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 32px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\">Entry-Level<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\"><strong>\u00a318,449<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 32px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\">Mid-Career<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\"><strong>\u00a330,157<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 32px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\">15 Years Experience<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 32px;\"><strong>\u00a349,226<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"accordion-item\" data-accordion-item=\"\"><a class=\"accordion-title\" href=\"#\">USA<\/a>\n<div class=\"accordion-content\" data-tab-content=\"\">\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Entry-Level<\/td>\n<td><strong>$54,722<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mid-Career<\/td>\n<td><strong>$64,529 <\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>15 Years Experience<\/td>\n<td><strong>$69,000<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-are-the-education-and-training-requirements-for-nbsp-an-nbsp-instructional-nbsp-designer\"><strong>What are the education and training requirements for&nbsp;<\/strong><strong>an&nbsp;Instructional&nbsp;Designer<\/strong><strong>?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the 2015 Global eLearning Salary &amp; Compensation Report released by the eLearning Guild, which featured the responses of 5,127 of their members, individuals who hold an instructional design doctorate degree have a salary that is almost 24% higher than the United States average.<sup>6<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this is not the only option you have to learn the skills required for a career in instructional design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Co-founder and CEO of LearnDash, Justin Ferriman believes today\u2019s Instructional Designer looks very different than they did in the past when proficiency in a couple of core skills sufficed.<sup>7<\/sup> Nowadays, Instructional Designers need to be skilled in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Facilitation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Research<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Writing and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/products\/uct-copy-editing-online-short-course\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">editing<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Problem solving<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Innovation and ideation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/products\/uct-project-management-foundations-online-short-course\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Project management<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Multimedia<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/products\/uct-user-experience-design-online-short-course\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UX design<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New technologies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Related Content:<\/strong> What are the key skills of an instructional designer?<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/key-skills-of-an-instructional-designer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"43\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/buttons-03.png\" alt=\"become an instructional designer 2\" class=\"wp-image-8929\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">These instructional design skills could be gained through a Bachelor&#8217;s Degree specialising in education, information technology, teaching with technology, web development, UX design, or writing; work experience, either at a higher education institution, an online education company, or a corporate organisation; or through continued learning &#8211; take an&nbsp;education technology course to learn how to build online short courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-skills-do-you-need-to-advance-in-your-career-as-an-instructional-design-professional\"><strong>What skills do you need to advance in your career as an instructional design professional?<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/courses\/za\/wits-instructional-design-online-short-course\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-10559 noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-10559 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/WITS-instructional-design_ISD_CPP-300x296.png\" alt=\"WITS-instructional-design_ISD_CPP\" width=\"300\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/WITS-instructional-design_ISD_CPP-300x296.png 300w, https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/WITS-instructional-design_ISD_CPP.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/courses\/za\/wits-teaching-technology-online-short-course\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-10560 noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-10560 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/WITS-teaching-with-technology_ISD_CPP-300x296.png\" alt=\"WITS-teaching-with-technology_ISD_CPP\" width=\"300\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/WITS-teaching-with-technology_ISD_CPP-300x296.png 300w, https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/WITS-teaching-with-technology_ISD_CPP.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/courses\/za\/user-experience-ux-design-short-course\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-10557 noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-10557 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Buttons_User-Experience-Design_CPP_ISD-300x295.png\" alt=\"Buttons_User Experience Design_CPP_ISD\" width=\"300\" height=\"295\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Buttons_User-Experience-Design_CPP_ISD-300x295.png 300w, https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Buttons_User-Experience-Design_CPP_ISD.png 730w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/courses\/za\/uct-training-and-development-management-short-course\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"attachment noopener wp-att-10558 noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-10558 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Buttons_Training-and-Development-Management_ISD_CPP-300x296.png\" alt=\"Buttons_Training and Development Management_ISD_CPP\" width=\"300\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Buttons_Training-and-Development-Management_ISD_CPP-300x296.png 300w, https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Buttons_Training-and-Development-Management_ISD_CPP.png 730w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/courses\/za\/uct-project-management-foundations-short-course\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-10556 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/UCT-Copywriting-for-Online-Marketing_ISD_CPP-300x296.png\" alt=\"UCT-Copywriting-for-Online-Marketing_ISD_CPP\" width=\"300\" height=\"296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/UCT-Copywriting-for-Online-Marketing_ISD_CPP-300x296.png 300w, https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/UCT-Copywriting-for-Online-Marketing_ISD_CPP.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-10555 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Buttons_Project-Management-Foundations_CPP_ISD-300x295.png\" alt=\"Buttons_Project Management Foundations_CPP_ISD\" width=\"300\" height=\"295\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Buttons_Project-Management-Foundations_CPP_ISD-300x295.png 300w, https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Buttons_Project-Management-Foundations_CPP_ISD.png 731w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>1&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/elearningindustry.com\/4-ways-elearning-impacts-businesses\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eLearning Industry<\/span><\/a><\/sup><br><sup>2&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelearningconsortium.org\/news_item\/report-one-four-students-enrolled-online-courses\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">OLC<\/span><\/a><\/sup><br><sup>3&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/forbes\/welcome\/?toURL=https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/joshbersin\/2014\/02\/04\/the-recovery-arrives-corporate-training-spend-skyrockets\/&amp;refURL=https:\/\/www.google.co.za\/&amp;referrer=https:\/\/www.google.co.za\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forbes<\/span><\/a><\/sup><br><sup>4&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.elearninglearning.com\/statistics\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eLearning Learning<\/span><\/a><\/sup><br><sup>5&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/elearningindustry.com\/5-common-misconceptions-about-instructional-designer-salaries\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eLearning Industry<\/span><\/a><\/sup><br><sup>6&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.elearningguild.com\/content\/23\/about-guild-publications\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The eLearning Guild<\/span><\/a><\/sup><br><sup>7&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.learndash.com\/9-essential-instructional-designer-skills\/?utm_campaign=elearningindustry.com&amp;utm_source=%2Fwhat-role-of-the-instructional-designer&amp;utm_medium=link\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LearnDash<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find out what it takes to excel in this booming industry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":17597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[126,127],"article-format":[],"class_list":["post-8927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-advice","tag-art-design","tag-career-advice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.2 (Yoast SEO v26.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Become an Instructional Designer - Career Advice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Whether you\u2019ve got the tech skills or the teaching skills, instructional design could be the next profitable step in your career.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-become-instructional-designer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Become an Instructional Designer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Whether you\u2019ve got the tech skills or the teaching skills, instructional design could be the next profitable step in your career.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-become-instructional-designer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GetSmarter Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-08-21T12:47:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-19T12:47:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Instructional_Designer_Thumbnail.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1001\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1001\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shameel Mohanlal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GetSmarter Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-become-instructional-designer\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Instructional_Designer_Thumbnail.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Instructional_Designer_Thumbnail.png\",\"width\":1001,\"height\":1001},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-become-instructional-designer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Become an Instructional Designer - Career Advice","description":"Whether you\u2019ve got the tech skills or the teaching skills, instructional design could be the next profitable step in your career.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-become-instructional-designer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Become an Instructional Designer","og_description":"Whether you\u2019ve got the tech skills or the teaching skills, instructional design could be the next profitable step in your career.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-become-instructional-designer\/","og_site_name":"GetSmarter Blog","article_published_time":"2017-08-21T12:47:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-19T12:47:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1001,"height":1001,"url":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Instructional_Designer_Thumbnail.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Shameel Mohanlal","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"GetSmarter Staff","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-become-instructional-designer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Instructional_Designer_Thumbnail.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Instructional_Designer_Thumbnail.png","width":1001,"height":1001},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/how-to-become-instructional-designer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8927"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52006,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8927\/revisions\/52006"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8927"},{"taxonomy":"article-format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsmarter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article-format?post=8927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}