The world of education has long progressed past the days of blackboards and chalk stains. Instead, many educators use curriculum development, educational theories, and the latest technologies to develop lessons. However, teachers can't do all this work alone. That's where an instructional systems specialist comes in.
The instructional systems specialist helps coordinate lessons and educational content by training professionals in the latest developments in the field, mastering technological tools such as eLearning platforms, and monitoring the development process. They usually work with a team of educators to develop this process.
Even though instructional systems specialists work in education, that doesn't mean they can only work in schools. They can work for private companies looking to keep their employees fresh or even for the government or military. Wherever people are learning, an instructional systems specialist helps make the process more efficient and effective.
Instructional Systems Specialist Overview
Instructional Systems Specialist Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an instructional systems specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $32.88 an hour? That's $68,384 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 11,500 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Instructional Systems Specialist Do
There are certain skills that many instructional systems specialists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, communication skills and decision-making skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an instructional systems specialist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 19.7% of instructional systems specialists included instructional materials, while 16.4% of resumes included instructional design, and 12.0% of resumes included clearance. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the instructional systems specialist job title. But what industry to start with? Most instructional systems specialists actually find jobs in the technology and professional industries.
How To Become an Instructional Systems Specialist
If you're interested in becoming an instructional systems specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 28.2% of instructional systems specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 49.2% of instructional systems specialists have master's degrees. Even though most instructional systems specialists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an instructional systems specialist. When we researched the most common majors for an instructional systems specialist, we found that they most commonly earn master's degree degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on instructional systems specialist resumes include associate degree degrees or doctoral degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an instructional systems specialist. In fact, many instructional systems specialist jobs require experience in a role such as teacher. Meanwhile, many instructional systems specialists also have previous career experience in roles such as instructor or instructional designer.
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Instructional Systems Specialist Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, an instructional systems specialist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as instructor, progress to a title such as adjunct professor and then eventually end up with the title assistant principal.
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Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for an Instructional Systems Specialist
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Ohlone College Instructional Accessibility Specialist Instructional Accessibility Specialist | Ohlone College Ohlone College | 01/27/2021 01/27/2021 | $54,96001/27/2021 $54,960 |
Geological Survey Instructional Systems Specialist Instructional Systems Specialist | Geological Survey Geological Survey | 11/26/2020 11/26/2020 | $83,61511/26/2020 $83,615 |
Pellissippi State Community College Specialist, Instructional Systems Specialist, Instructional Systems | Pellissippi State Community College Pellissippi State Community College | 08/29/2020 08/29/2020 | $43,99008/29/2020 $43,990 |
DHS Headquarters Intructional Systems Specialist Intructional Systems Specialist | DHS Headquarters DHS Headquarters | 07/07/2020 07/07/2020 | $102,66307/07/2020 $102,663 |
Department of Homeland Security Instructional Systems Specialist Instructional Systems Specialist | Department of Homeland Security Department of Homeland Security | 06/29/2020 06/29/2020 | $64,18006/29/2020 $64,180 |
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Top Colleges for Instructional Systems Specialists
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Public
3. New York University
New York, NY • Private
4. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
5. SUNY at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY • Public
6. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Public
7. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
8. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
9. Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA • Private
10. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN • Public
Top Skills For an Instructional Systems Specialist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 19.7% of instructional systems specialists listed instructional materials on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and communication skills are important as well.
- Instructional Materials, 19.7%
- Instructional Design, 16.4%
- Clearance, 12.0%
- Student Learning, 11.1%
- Training Programs, 10.5%
- Other Skills, 30.3% See All Instructional Systems Specialist Skills
Best States For an Instructional Systems Specialist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an instructional systems specialist. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, and Virginia. Instructional systems specialists make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $75,041. Whereas in Delaware and Minnesota, they would average $65,577 and $65,242, respectively. While instructional systems specialists would only make an average of $65,150 in Virginia, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Connecticut
$75,041
Avg. Salary
2. Wyoming
$59,882
Avg. Salary
3. North Dakota
$58,562
Avg. Salary