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Instructional designer and trainer vs designer

The differences between instructional designer and trainers and designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an instructional designer and trainer, becoming a designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a designer has an average salary of $66,347, which is higher than the $65,072 average annual salary of an instructional designer and trainer.

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 designer are sketch, customer service, and graphic design.

Instructional designer and trainer vs designer overview

Instructional Designer And TrainerDesigner
Yearly salary$65,072$66,347
Hourly rate$31.28$31.90
Growth rate7%3%
Number of jobs70,22252,433
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4438
Years of experience412

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 designer do?

A designer is someone who creates a master plan of the look or workings of something before it will be made. It could be tangible or intangible objects, products, procedures, laws, events, games, graphics, services, and even experiences. Designers are creative thinkers with a great eye to configure the skeletal and structural properties of the targeted output. They work in several fields, such as fashion, architecture, web graphics, and user experience. In spite of the variety of professionals in the design industry, all of them are artistic, passionate, inspiring, and emotionally connected to their projects and brands.

Instructional designer and trainer vs designer salary

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

Instructional Designer And TrainerDesigner
Average salary$65,072$66,347
Salary rangeBetween $48,000 And $87,000Between $45,000 And $97,000
Highest paying CityGermantown, MDSeattle, WA
Highest paying stateConnecticutWashington
Best paying companyAppleMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between instructional designer and trainer and designer education

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

Instructional Designer And TrainerDesigner
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorBusinessGraphic Design
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Instructional designer and trainer vs designer demographics

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

Instructional Designer And TrainerDesigner
Average age4438
Gender ratioMale, 42.5% Female, 57.5%Male, 56.9% Female, 43.1%
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, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage16%13%

Differences between instructional designer and trainer and designer 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

Designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead & design all creative content stemming from apparel design to web identity.
  • Manage various PCB designs utilizing state of the art DFM techniques and comply with company standards.
  • Utilize CSS, DHTML, HTML, and JavaScript for cross browser, cross platform compatibility and consistency.
  • Develop different kinds of functions globally, locally for the development of forms using JavaScript, CSS.
  • Transform customer specifications into usable SolidWorks 3D models and assemblies from which all manufacturing are derived.
  • Process ECR's and ECO's using Windchill.
  • Show more

Instructional designer and trainer vs designer 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 designer skills
  • Sketch, 10%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Graphic Design, 6%
  • CSS, 5%
  • HTML, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%

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