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The differences between instructional systems specialists and instructional design consultants 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 systems specialist and an instructional design consultant. Additionally, an instructional design consultant has an average salary of $70,045, which is higher than the $53,853 average annual salary of an instructional systems specialist.
The top three skills for an instructional systems specialist include instructional materials, learning objectives and training programs. The most important skills for an instructional design consultant are instructional design, subject matter experts, and elearning.
| Instructional Systems Specialist | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $53,853 | $70,045 |
| Hourly rate | $25.89 | $33.68 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 65,859 | 47,057 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An instructional systems specialist is responsible for creating instructional materials and coordinating educational content. Typical duties include developing educational and training programs, developing cooperative and constructive working relationships with others, and developing plans and goals to organize and prioritize your work. As an instructional systems specialist, you will guide, direct, and motivate your subordinates and set performance standards. You are also expected to assist students in achieving their academic goals and provide technical expertise on the application and interpretation of automation training standards.
An instructional design consultant is responsible for assisting, developing, and managing instructional material and plans with other professionals such as programmers, web developers, and teachers in IT. They usually collaborate, coordinate, and interact with the aforementioned professionals to develop a program design to enhance their expertise and learning experiences. Also, they must research electronic learning, run usability tests, find learning objectives for a particular project, and do a content development review and analysis.
Instructional systems specialists and instructional design consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Instructional Systems Specialist | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Average salary | $53,853 | $70,045 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $74,000 | Between $51,000 And $95,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Department of Homeland Security | Qualtrics |
| Best paying industry | Government | Energy |
There are a few differences between an instructional systems specialist and an instructional design consultant in terms of educational background:
| Instructional Systems Specialist | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between instructional systems specialists' and instructional design consultants' demographics:
| Instructional Systems Specialist | Instructional Design Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.0% Female, 46.0% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 5.3% White, 61.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 5.4% White, 62.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |