IDInstructional Designer
ID
Career

Instructional Designer

By the numbers
Typical pay
$69,280 / yr
Education to start
Bachelor's degree
Future demand
+10.8% by 2034
People in this job
458K
Figures shown for ·closest of 2 O*NET occupations
The work
A day, hour by hour
08:30
Triage & plan

Scan overnight feedback, prioritize the day's build tasks across three active courses.

09:00
SME interview

Pull usable knowledge from an expert; decide what to cut so learners aren't buried.

10:00
Storyboard sprint

Draft slide-by-slide script and visuals for a new compliance module from scratch.

12:00
Stakeholder review

Walk a client through draft content; wrangle conflicting notes into one revision list.

13:00
Storyline build

Wire up clicks, branching scenarios, and quiz logic inside Articulate Storyline.

15:00
Data & iteration

Pull LMS completion and quiz-score data; spot which screen is losing learners and fix it.

16:00
LMS upload & test

Publish the finished module, upload it, and click through every path to catch breaks.

16:45
Wrap & handoff

Log revision status, flag blockers, and send the updated file to the developer.

Things you do
  • Build online courses and training modules from scratch.
  • Interview subject-matter experts to turn their knowledge into lessons.
  • Write scripts, storyboards, and slide decks for learning content.
  • Use tools like Articulate Storyline to add clicks, quizzes, and animations.
  • Design quizzes and activities that check whether learners actually got it.
Decisions you’ll make
  • Is this content actually teaching something, or just presenting information?
  • Should I simplify this for the learner, or will that frustrate the subject matter expert?
  • Is a quiz here testing real understanding, or just making people click through?
  • Should I build something interactive, or will a simpler format work just as well?
  • Is this course underperforming because of my design, or because learners aren't motivated?
Education Pathways · how you get there
91 in 100 went the college route · 9 in 100 found another way in Less than 5 years, typically
Education mapped from O*NET:
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