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What is an instructional design manager and how to become one
An instructional design manager is a leading professional that oversees staff who design education courses and curriculums for businesses and other organizations. They work with teams to create training materials, teaching manuals, and student guides in a variety of subjects. These individuals implement various instructional approaches to optimize student knowledge and development, as well as offer effective solutions to solve potential learning issues and obstacles.
An instructional design manager is a good career field for educators since many skills are transferable to this field. Most of these individuals have an associate's or a bachelor's degree in instructional design, education, training, or a related field. However, some employers may consider those individuals who have comparable knowledge and experience. An instructional design manager should have strong communication, interpersonal and organizational skills and have some experience in education and training.
If you enjoy teaching and have some experience in education, a career as an instructional design manager can be very rewarding. Many instructional design managers can make up to $63,000 per year, and the field is expected to grow 6% by 2028.
What general advice would you give to an instructional design manager?
Anthony Piña Ed.D.
Chief Online Learning Officer/Director of Online Education, Illinois State University
Avg. Salary $66,959
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 7%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.68%
Asian 5.54%
Black or African American 10.27%
Hispanic or Latino 17.40%
Unknown 3.87%
White 62.24%
Genderfemale 52.52%
male 47.48%
Age - 44American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 44Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Instructional design manager career paths
Key steps to become an instructional design manager
Explore instructional design manager education requirements
Start to develop specific instructional design manager skills
Skills Percentages Subject Matter Experts 10.77% Project Management 9.57% Learning Solutions 7.02% ELearning 6.78% Training Programs 6.68% Complete relevant instructional design manager training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New instructional design managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an instructional design manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real instructional design manager resumes.Research instructional design manager duties and responsibilities
- Lead and coordinate complex project to design, build, and implement a call library on the SharePoint platform.
- Manage course developers, vendors, SMEs, and stakeholders to develop a world-wide sales training curriculum and relate courses.
- Collaborate with executives and SMEs to determine training and performance requirements need to achieve business results.
- Lead global elearning curriculum redesign and translation project including interface and course design, vendor selection and author and vendor management.
Prepare your instructional design manager resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your instructional design manager resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an instructional design manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable instructional design manager resume templates
Build a professional instructional design manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your instructional design manager resume.
Apply for instructional design manager jobs
Now it's time to start searching for an instructional design manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
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Average instructional design manager salary
The average instructional design manager salary in the United States is $66,959 per year or $32 per hour. Instructional design manager salaries range between $48,000 and $91,000 per year.
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Updated January 8, 2025
