Instructional Design is a great career for teachers considering a career change. It helps that as Teachers, you may already possess multiple cross-functional skills that you can leverage to become a highly seasoned Instructional Designer.
eLearning is not optional anymore and its demand continues to ramp up even post pandemic. It is an excellent time for Educators and Teachers to embark on a career of Learning and Instructional Design. Read on to find out more.
What are the statistics?
In 2021, the e-learning market size grew to some $321 billion, and it is expected to show a 20% compound annual growth rate from 2022 to 2028, according to Global Market Insights.
Similarly, the business and professional world is continuing to become more digitised at a galloping pace. The digital transformation market is expected to increase at a compound yearly growth rate of 19.1% from $521.5 billion in 2021 to $127.5 billion in 2026, according to Markets and Markets. What this means is that the workforce needs upskilling at more rapid rates than ever before.
Future of Organisations is Learning
Employers who want to retain their talent should consider implementing organisational learning or teaching employees skills and knowledge alongside their daily tasks, studies indicate.
According to a Gallup study, 87% of millennials consider internal career development and progress to be crucial to their career development. These employees are more likely to consider looking elsewhere if they feel their needs aren’t being met.
Staff turnover is a shockingly expensive problem to solve with US businesses losing $11 billion annually to turnover. In the UK, turnover is a £4 billion annual problem. Long story short: turnover is a costly problem that can be aided by providing organisational learning. This is where you come in.
You Can Help Solve This Problem
Teachers possess a valuable array of transferable skills, which can be beautifully and effectively deployed as instructional designers or learning designers.
Remember those lesson plans we mentioned at the top of the page? That’s a transferable skill right there. Instructional designers say a lesson plan is comparable to the training needs analysis step of developing an instructional design program.
There are however some knowledge gaps that teachers may have to bridge to transition into the rewarding career of Instructional and Learning Design such as:
- Understanding ID models
- Conducting a thorough Learning and Training Needs Analysis
- Storyboarding of curriculum/learning
- Being able to develop eLearning using Authoring Tools
- Basic understanding of Project Management
- Fundamental knowledge of Change Management
- Collaborating with Subject Matter Experts
- Quality Assurance and Evaluation of Training
Tips to Help You Become a Learning Designer or Instructional Designer
Build a Portfolio
Showing work, you have already done will help prospective employers imagine you creating the same quality of work at their organisations. A strong portfolio generates leads, showcases your instructional design expertise, earns the confidence of your target audience, and advances you to the next level of the recruiting process.
Make Connections and Build Your Network
Reach out to instructional designers who are thought leaders through professional networks like LinkedIn. Making thoughtful comments on posts can help you build a connection with them which can lead to future professional relationships.
It’s important to be genuine and not just reach out for the sake of reaching out. Know who your targets are and be able to describe why you want to engage with them. Is it because they’ve made a professional change? Know what you want to learn from them and why.
Learn with Books, Podcasts & Blogs
There are a wealth of resources on the internet to help teachers make a career change to instructional designers or learning designers. People with the knowledge want to share it and help others, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find free or affordable resources that will help you build your knowledge base.
Gain Exposure Through Volunteering
If you don’t have enough experience to have a portfolio, you can find a variety of volunteer positions both remote and in person. These can help you build experience before you attempt to seek a paid position.
Freelance
Another way to get experience would be to offer your services on a freelance network like Fiverr or Upwork. These can help you get clients and build your portfolio. They can also help you build your network with potential employers and peer learning designers.
Learn with LDA
- Learning Dev Academy offers a professional diploma in Human-Centred Learning Design. This is an intensive 12-week course, specifically designed to help career changes transition into Learning Design.
- LDA offers hands-on, creative, project-based learning that can be applied in the real world. Our courses are not ‘off the shelf.’
- We worked with industry leaders to utilize their expertise and share it with our students.
- While the theory of Human-Centred Learning Experience Design may be learned elsewhere, LDA will provide you with various cross-functional skills that are relevant to learning designers today.
- Because we recognize that everyone is unique, with distinct starting points and ambitions, we provide professional mentorship as well as assistance in developing your own career path for the following stages.
- You will leave with an intriguing portfolio that you will be proud to show off to potential employers and colleagues. You will be self-assured and job-ready.
Parting Thoughts
Teaching is a noble profession, and most teachers are passionate about learning and making a difference. Likewise, Learning Design is a rewarding and fulfilling profession that can be a great second career for teachers. People who choose to be teachers are natural nurturers and learning and development industry; offers excellent prospects to help and develop people.
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Other valuable skills teachers possess include:
- Developing a curriculum
- Developing test items
- Evaluating test scores
- Analysing learners’ needs
- Writing objectives/goals
- Creating learning activities
- Facilitating discussions
There are however some knowledge gaps that teachers may have to bridge to transition into the rewarding career of Instructional and Learning Design such as:
- Understanding ID models
- Conducting a thorough Learning and Training Needs Analysis
- Storyboarding of curriculum/learning
- Being able to develop eLearning using Authoring Tools
- Basic understanding of Project Management
- Fundamental knowledge of Change Management
- Collaborating with Subject Matter Experts
- Quality Assurance and Evaluation of Training
Tips to Help You Become a Learning Designer or Instructional Designer
Build a Portfolio
Showing work, you have already done will help prospective employers imagine you creating the same quality of work at their organisations. A strong portfolio generates leads, showcases your instructional design expertise, earns the confidence of your target audience, and advances you to the next level of the recruiting process.
Make Connections and Build Your Network
Reach out to instructional designers who are thought leaders through professional networks like LinkedIn. Making thoughtful comments on posts can help you build a connection with them which can lead to future professional relationships.
It’s important to be genuine and not just reach out for the sake of reaching out. Know who your targets are and be able to describe why you want to engage with them. Is it because they’ve made a professional change? Know what you want to learn from them and why.
Learn with Books, Podcasts & Blogs
There are a wealth of resources on the internet to help teachers make a career change to instructional designers or learning designers. People with the knowledge want to share it and help others, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find free or affordable resources that will help you build your knowledge base.
Gain Exposure Through Volunteering
If you don’t have enough experience to have a portfolio, you can find a variety of volunteer positions both remote and in person. These can help you build experience before you attempt to seek a paid position.
Freelance
Another way to get experience would be to offer your services on a freelance network like Fiverr or Upwork. These can help you get clients and build your portfolio. They can also help you build your network with potential employers and peer learning designers.
Learn with LDA
- Learning Dev Academy offers a professional diploma in Human-Centred Learning Design. This is an intensive 12-week course, specifically designed to help career changes transition into Learning Design.
- LDA offers hands-on, creative, project-based learning that can be applied in the real world. Our courses are not ‘off the shelf.’
- We worked with industry leaders to utilize their expertise and share it with our students.
- While the theory of Human-Centred Learning Experience Design may be learned elsewhere, LDA will provide you with various cross-functional skills that are relevant to learning designers today.
- Because we recognize that everyone is unique, with distinct starting points and ambitions, we provide professional mentorship as well as assistance in developing your own career path for the following stages.
- You will leave with an intriguing portfolio that you will be proud to show off to potential employers and colleagues. You will be self-assured and job-ready.
Parting Thoughts
Teaching is a noble profession, and most teachers are passionate about learning and making a difference. Likewise, Learning Design is a rewarding and fulfilling profession that can be a great second career for teachers. People who choose to be teachers are natural nurturers and learning and development industry; offers excellent prospects to help and develop people.
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