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The differences between curriculum designers and instructional design technologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a curriculum designer and an instructional design technologist. Additionally, an instructional design technologist has an average salary of $64,845, which is higher than the $54,176 average annual salary of a curriculum designer.
The top three skills for a curriculum designer include subject matter experts, course content and project management. The most important skills for an instructional design technologist are customer service, professional development, and curriculum design.
| Curriculum Designer | Instructional Design Technologist | |
| Yearly salary | $54,176 | $64,845 |
| Hourly rate | $26.05 | $31.18 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 44,751 | 87,908 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A curriculum designer creates and implements educational programs in schools, colleges, and other organizations that offer training and educational services. They usually work with teachers and academic administrators in establishing guidelines, academic roadmaps, and policies. A curriculum designer is also responsible for creating lesson plans and learning materials, conducting research and assessments, establishing curriculum timelines, and analyzing feedback from students, teachers, and administrators. They also monitor the students' academic progress to be able to make curriculum adjustments or changes when necessary.
Instructional design technologists are professionals who focus on the creation of curriculum for instruction solutions in companies. The technologists contribute to businesses' cost savings as they determine the opportunities of transferring facilitator lead training to eLearning. They create virtual assessments and offer feedback as well as recommendations to project teams. Their tasks may include collaboration with small and medium enterprises to better understand the systems and applications before documentation or training creation. Communication, people, and time management skills are necessary for this job.
Curriculum designers and instructional design technologists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Curriculum Designer | Instructional Design Technologist | |
| Average salary | $54,176 | $64,845 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $76,000 | Between $46,000 And $91,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Annapolis, MD |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Edelman Financial Engines | ServiceNow |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a curriculum designer and an instructional design technologist in terms of educational background:
| Curriculum Designer | Instructional Design Technologist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Elementary Education | English |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between curriculum designers' and instructional design technologists' demographics:
| Curriculum Designer | Instructional Design Technologist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.9% Female, 63.1% | Male, 45.2% Female, 54.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 5.5% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 5.7% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |