CDCurriculum Designer
CD
Career

Curriculum Designer

By the numbers
Typical pay
$77,440 / yr
Education to start
Master's degree
Future demand
+1.3% by 2034
People in this job
228K
Figures shown for ·closest of 2 O*NET occupations
The work
A day, hour by hour
08:30
Review & orient

Scan overnight feedback from stakeholders; flag what needs action today.

09:00
Course mapping

Lay out a new module lesson by lesson — sequence, pacing, gaps.

10:30
SME interview

Grill a subject-matter expert; decide what to trust, what to push back on.

11:30
Learning goals draft

Write crisp objectives — real skills learners can do, not vague coverage.

13:00
Build & design

Assemble interactive slides and an e-learning module in Articulate Storyline.

15:00
Assessment review

Audit quiz questions — cut anything that tests memory instead of understanding.

15:45
Stakeholder revisions

Work through a round of manager feedback; negotiate what actually changes.

16:45
Data & iteration

Pull learner results from last week; rewrite the two lessons with low scores.

Things you do
  • Map out a full course from scratch, lesson by lesson.
  • Write clear learning goals so students know what they'll master.
  • Build quizzes, activities, and projects that test real understanding.
  • Interview subject-matter experts to turn their knowledge into lessons.
  • Create interactive slides, videos, or e-learning modules using design tools.
Decisions you’ll make
  • Is this content actually teaching something, or just covering it?
  • Should I break this into smaller lessons, or keep it as one?
  • Does this assessment test real understanding, or just memorization?
  • Should I push back on the subject matter expert, or trust their version?
  • Is this module too long to hold a learner's attention?
Education Pathways · how you get there
100 in 100 went the college route · 0 in 100 found another way in 5 years or more, typically
Education mapped from O*NET:
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