If you are a new instructional designer or transitioning to the field or just aren’t a tech person, this post is for you. Technology plays a large part in instructional design, especially eLearning. Many employers want some level of skill with Articulate Storyline, Rise or Adobe Captivate and many others like Vyond, Camtasia and sometimes Photoshop. Some software have free trials that allow you to get your hands on them and maybe even create a portfolio asset or two. Some don’t. Some free trials are so short, it’s hard to learn anything. This software can also be very expensive to purchase. If you want some suggestions on how to get around the technology hurdle, read on.
Historian Paula Giddings published a book called When and Where We Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America. The book traces the contributions of black women throughout American history. Highly recommend it. While history is usually taught and thought of as “History” and “Black History” especially to younger children, all history is just history. Black women don’t enter and exit history, like walking into someone’s room and then leaving. If you study history closely enough, black women make history. They are always there, keeping everything moving and adding a little flair along the way.
Cammy Bean in her book The Accidental Instructional Designer discusses the T shaped skills model. Instructional design jobs will make you feel like you have to know and be able to do all the parts of instructional design--learning, creativity, technology, and business--flawlessly. Trust me, you don’t. And very few people do.
Think of the shape of a capital T with the top part of the T all the skills instructional designers need and the vertical line of the T as your skill set like the drawing below.
Instructional design is made up of learning, creativity, technology, and business skills. Undoubtedly, you possess some of these skills and others you are weaker in. The top part of the capital T is all the general skills; the vertical line of the T is when and where you enter.
If you are coming from the learning world, you know instructional strategies and how to write effective learning objectives. Maybe you were a teacher or a trainer. Look at jobs in the following fields:
Learning specialist/coach
Facilitator (you may want or not want to do facilitation. Understandable.)
If you are a creative person, you may know color theory and design, writing, video production, storytelling, visual design, theatre. Look for jobs that emphasize these skills. Look for jobs in the following fields:
Technical writing
UX writing
Brand storytelling (if you have a little marketing experience)
Copywriting (you may also need a little marketing here)
If you come from the business world, you may know budgets, ROI, data analysis, project management, or consulting. Use these to your advantage. Look at jobs in the following fields:
Organizational management
Process Improvement
Consulting/Coaching
Organizational development
If you are a tech person, look for jobs in the following fields:
LMS administrator
ID jobs with programming/coding
e-Learning Developer
Technical writing
This strategy gives you a way into instructional design. As Julie Andrews says “when one door closes, another window opens.” Enter through the window if you have to.
When you are in the room where it happens (hello, Hamilton reference), now you can work your way into instructional design like squeezing into a tight pair of jeans (you know, the ones you have to lay on the bed to button.) Small steps like the following help:
Network, network, network--Hopefully you will get some contact with some instructional designers in these instructional design adjacent jobs. Get to know them. Tell them you’re looking.
Get your hands on the software--If you can, use the software. If you are working for a company, maybe your company has a license. Tap those instructional designers for tips and resources. If your company doesn’t have a license or you are a contractor, save up to buy your own license.
Volunteer for projects--Preferably with other instructional designers. Or now that you got a job, do some volunteer instructional design work for a charity or non-profit organization.
Bean, C. (2014). The Accidental Instructional Designer: Learning Design for the Digital Age. ASTD Press.
Giddings, P. (1984). When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America. HarperCollins Publishers.
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