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The differences between instructional designers and instructional systems 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 and an instructional systems designer. Additionally, an instructional systems designer has an average salary of $65,907, which is higher than the $57,534 average annual salary of an instructional designer.
The top three skills for an instructional designer include instructional design, subject matter experts and project management. The most important skills for an instructional systems designer are subject matter experts, instructional design, and smes.
| Instructional Designer | Instructional Systems Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $57,534 | $65,907 |
| Hourly rate | $27.66 | $31.69 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 50,321 | 104,993 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An instructional designer focuses on devising learning materials and content to aid every students' learning difficulties. These can include videos, books, and presentations. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis to identify the needs of students, crafting learning strategies in collaboration with experts. They are also responsible for developing tools and materials to help assess every students' progress, such as quizzes and examinations. Furthermore, an instructional designer needs to coordinate with all personnel involved with the project to ensure accuracy and timeliness.
An instructional systems designer specializes in developing training solutions in adherence to the objectives of a program or project. Their responsibilities include identifying the needs of projects and programs, performing extensive research and analysis, gathering and analyzing existing systems' data to identify their strengths and weaknesses, studying feedback from various parties, and developing test structures. Moreover, an instructional systems designer must maintain an active communication line with the instructional systems team, coordinating while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Instructional designers and instructional systems designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Instructional Designer | Instructional Systems Designer | |
| Average salary | $57,534 | $65,907 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $79,000 | Between $46,000 And $93,000 |
| Highest paying City | Hartford, CT | Baltimore, MD |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Parsons | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between an instructional designer and an instructional systems designer in terms of educational background:
| Instructional Designer | Instructional Systems Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 55% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between instructional designers' and instructional systems designers' demographics:
| Instructional Designer | Instructional Systems Designer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.8% Female, 58.2% | Male, 64.6% Female, 35.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 5.5% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 5.3% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |