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The differences between instructional designer interns and senior instructional designers 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 internship and a senior instructional designer. Additionally, a senior instructional designer has an average salary of $68,140, which is higher than the $33,791 average annual salary of an instructional designer internship.
The top three skills for an instructional designer internship include instructional design, powerpoint and subject matter experts. The most important skills for a senior instructional designer are instructional design, subject matter experts, and project management.
| Instructional Designer Internship | Senior Instructional Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $33,791 | $68,140 |
| Hourly rate | $16.25 | $32.76 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 94,366 | 47,093 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
The instructional designer intern focuses on resolving the skill gaps seen between employees of a company or a department. This type of designer formulates instructional materials to help improve the target audience's skills and enhance qualifications relevant to their position, nature of work, or career. An intern in this position works primarily under the head designer's supervision and mostly works on administrative and clerical duties, including editing tasks, especially for creating tutorial videos and materials.
A senior instructional designer specializes in developing instructional and educational materials for a specific group of individuals, including children and adults. Their duties involve working together with the clients in identifying project needs and requirements, collaborating with experts, conducting research and assessments, utilizing theories and other studies in developing instructional materials, and subjecting the materials into different inspections to ensure quality and accuracy. Additionally, a senior instructional designer must utilize their expertise and experience by training and supervising junior designers while implementing policies and regulations.
Instructional designer interns and senior instructional designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Instructional Designer Internship | Senior Instructional Designer | |
| Average salary | $33,791 | $68,140 |
| Salary range | Between $18,000 And $62,000 | Between $49,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Newtown, CT |
| Highest paying state | - | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | - | Algolia |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between an instructional designer internship and a senior instructional designer in terms of educational background:
| Instructional Designer Internship | Senior Instructional Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Kinesiology | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between instructional designer interns' and senior instructional designers' demographics:
| Instructional Designer Internship | Senior Instructional Designer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5% | Male, 45.7% Female, 54.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 5.5% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 5.5% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |