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Instructional designer and trainer vs curriculum developer

The differences between instructional designer and trainers and curriculum developers 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 designer and trainer and a curriculum developer. Additionally, an instructional designer and trainer has an average salary of $65,072, which is higher than the $53,226 average annual salary of a curriculum developer.

The top three skills for an instructional designer and trainer include instructional design, subject matter experts and blended learning. The most important skills for a curriculum developer are instructional design, curriculum development, and training materials.

Instructional designer and trainer vs curriculum developer overview

Instructional Designer And TrainerCurriculum Developer
Yearly salary$65,072$53,226
Hourly rate$31.28$25.59
Growth rate7%7%
Number of jobs70,22273,274
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does an instructional designer and trainer do?

Instructional designers are in charge of redesigning the courses, developing the entire curriculum, and creating all instructional mediums, including handouts, presentation materials, participant guides, and job aids. They typically evaluate training, as well as assess what was learned and check if learning solutions led to quantifiable behavior improvements. Also, the design and rebuild both new and traditional learning models. Additionally, they execute feedback from program reviews, teach others how to convey the learning material, and research new changes in both learning design and education.

What does a curriculum developer do?

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.

Instructional designer and trainer vs curriculum developer salary

Instructional designer and trainers and curriculum developers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Instructional Designer And TrainerCurriculum Developer
Average salary$65,072$53,226
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $87,000Between $36,000 And $78,000
Highest paying CityGermantown, MDWashington, DC
Highest paying stateConnecticutConnecticut
Best paying companyAppleGoogle
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between instructional designer and trainer and curriculum developer education

There are a few differences between an instructional designer and trainer and a curriculum developer in terms of educational background:

Instructional Designer And TrainerCurriculum Developer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Instructional designer and trainer vs curriculum developer demographics

Here are the differences between instructional designer and trainers' and curriculum developers' demographics:

Instructional Designer And TrainerCurriculum Developer
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 42.5% Female, 57.5%Male, 46.5% Female, 53.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 5.5% White, 62.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%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%
LGBT Percentage16%16%

Differences between instructional designer and trainer and curriculum developer duties and responsibilities

Instructional designer and trainer example responsibilities.

  • Develop PowerPoint presentations to support instructor lead courses and other training documentation including job aids, and business process procedures.
  • Work with clients through all ISD phases to ensure customer needs are met.
  • Coordinate and execute changes to existing ISD products using analysis and change criteria.
  • Utilize a variety of communication venues: email, SharePoint web portal pages, and hard copies.
  • Interview SMEs to establish technical specifications for document development.
  • Research instructional technology trends, implement multimedia enhancements, update HTML coding.
  • Show more

Curriculum developer example responsibilities.

  • Manage the university's LMS system including a full lifecycle implementation of Moodle.
  • Map vertical and horizontal CCSS alignment across ELA curriculum and lead revision of district curriculum.
  • Manage online area launches and coordinate with other developers and managers regarding launch windows and completion dates.
  • Lead the virtualization of military training exercises and provide periods of instruction using virtual simulations.
  • Lecture on web-basics such as: HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, MySQL etc.
  • Utilize HTML, CSS and JavaScript to develop web-base elementary school level courses.
  • Show more

Instructional designer and trainer vs curriculum developer skills

Common instructional designer and trainer skills
  • Instructional Design, 8%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 7%
  • Blended Learning, 5%
  • Training Programs, 5%
  • Training Materials, 5%
  • Led Training, 4%
Common curriculum developer skills
  • Instructional Design, 8%
  • Curriculum Development, 8%
  • Training Materials, 7%
  • Subject Matter Experts, 6%
  • Java, 6%
  • Course Content, 4%

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