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The differences between curriculum developers and instructional design consultants 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 developer and an instructional design consultant. Additionally, an instructional design consultant has an average salary of $70,045, which is higher than the $53,226 average annual salary of a curriculum developer.
The top three skills for a curriculum developer include instructional design, curriculum development and training materials. The most important skills for an instructional design consultant are instructional design, subject matter experts, and elearning.
| Curriculum Developer | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $53,226 | $70,045 |
| Hourly rate | $25.59 | $33.68 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 73,274 | 47,057 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A curriculum developer is responsible for managing instructional materials, providing recommendations to the teachers, and making adjustments to the current student's curriculum to adhere to the highest educational standards and policies. Curriculum developers also facilitate and offer assistance for any implemented procedures. They also manage and address concerns regarding the learning standards and consider recommendations for curriculum improvement. A curriculum developer must have extensive knowledge of the education system to plan out the necessary teachers' training and coaching.
An instructional design consultant is responsible for assisting, developing, and managing instructional material and plans with other professionals such as programmers, web developers, and teachers in IT. They usually collaborate, coordinate, and interact with the aforementioned professionals to develop a program design to enhance their expertise and learning experiences. Also, they must research electronic learning, run usability tests, find learning objectives for a particular project, and do a content development review and analysis.
Curriculum developers and instructional design consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Curriculum Developer | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Average salary | $53,226 | $70,045 |
| Salary range | Between $36,000 And $78,000 | Between $51,000 And $95,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Qualtrics | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Energy |
There are a few differences between a curriculum developer and an instructional design consultant in terms of educational background:
| Curriculum Developer | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between curriculum developers' and instructional design consultants' demographics:
| Curriculum Developer | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 46.5% Female, 53.5% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 5.5% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 5.4% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |