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The differences between instructional design specialists 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 an instructional design specialist and an instructional design consultant. Additionally, an instructional design consultant has an average salary of $70,045, which is higher than the $54,282 average annual salary of an instructional design specialist.
The top three skills for an instructional design specialist include instructional design, subject matter experts and powerpoint. The most important skills for an instructional design consultant are instructional design, subject matter experts, and elearning.
| Instructional Design Specialist | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $54,282 | $70,045 |
| Hourly rate | $26.10 | $33.68 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 44,814 | 47,057 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An instructional design specialist is responsible for developing instructional materials mainly used for training and education. Among their responsibilities include identifying and understanding the program or project's needs, performing extensive research and analysis, consulting with experts, devising training and assessment plans, and ensuring that all instructional materials adhere to a program or project's objectives. Moreover, as an instructional design specialist, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with staff while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
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.
Instructional design specialists and instructional design consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Instructional Design Specialist | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Average salary | $54,282 | $70,045 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $74,000 | Between $51,000 And $95,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Baker Hughes | Qualtrics |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Energy |
There are a few differences between an instructional design specialist and an instructional design consultant in terms of educational background:
| Instructional Design Specialist | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between instructional design specialists' and instructional design consultants' demographics:
| Instructional Design Specialist | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 5.5% White, 61.8% 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% |