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The differences between instructional design consultants and curriculum writers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an instructional design consultant and a curriculum writer. Additionally, an instructional design consultant has an average salary of $70,045, which is higher than the $57,563 average annual salary of a curriculum writer.
The top three skills for an instructional design consultant include instructional design, subject matter experts and elearning. The most important skills for a curriculum writer are curriculum development, assessment items, and student achievement.
| Instructional Design Consultant | Curriculum Writer | |
| Yearly salary | $70,045 | $57,563 |
| Hourly rate | $33.68 | $27.67 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 47,057 | 11,540 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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 writers are professionals who are responsible for developing new academic instructional materials, lessons, and activities to be used by teachers or instructional staff from school districts, media companies, and other businesses. These writers are required to conduct professional development sessions for all staff about the design and changes in the new curriculum. They must produce instructional videos to help educators and coaches in preparing educational and instructional materials. Curriculum writers must also head a pilot project to evaluate potential opportunities for extended learning through virtual classroom and distance learning strategies.
Instructional design consultants and curriculum writers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Instructional Design Consultant | Curriculum Writer | |
| Average salary | $70,045 | $57,563 |
| Salary range | Between $51,000 And $95,000 | Between $35,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | - |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | - |
| Best paying company | Qualtrics | - |
| Best paying industry | Energy | - |
There are a few differences between an instructional design consultant and a curriculum writer in terms of educational background:
| Instructional Design Consultant | Curriculum Writer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Business | Elementary Education |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between instructional design consultants' and curriculum writers' demographics:
| Instructional Design Consultant | Curriculum Writer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 25.9% Female, 74.1% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.4% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |