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What is a senior instructional designer and how to become one
A senior instructional designer works with a team to design curricula and develop training materials to be used for educational or professional training programs. Your job is to design an effective framework for training, develop guidelines, delegate responsibilities to your team members, and coordinate all efforts to curate a complete and successful instructional program. Your duties also involve working hand in hand with clients to identify project needs, conducting research and assessments, and collaborating with other experts to develop instructional programs that suit client's needs and meet their goals. You will be expected to conduct reviews and assessments of current materials and make necessary recommendations.
You must possess clear communication skills, analytical skills, and team leadership skills. Instructional design, learning management system, and development of training materials are other highly rated skills that absolutely must be included in your resume. The most commonly required educational degree for this role is a master's degree. An average senior instructional designer earns $28.49 an hour or $59,256 annually.
What general advice would you give to a senior instructional designer?
Abby Guido
Assistant Professor, Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University
Every job I have ever received in my career has been through someone else I know. I share this with students to help them see the value in relationships. I always remember the students that took the time to write a handwritten thank-you note. And I think of them when I get an email asking if I know any students are looking for work.
Avg. Salary $68,140
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 7%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.74%
Asian 5.45%
Black or African American 10.61%
Hispanic or Latino 16.77%
Unknown 4.05%
White 62.36%
Genderfemale 54.31%
male 45.69%
Age - 44American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 44Stress level is manageable
7.1 - high
Complexity level is challenging
7 - challenging
Work life balance is poor
6.4 - fair
Senior instructional designer career paths
Key steps to become a senior instructional designer
Explore senior instructional designer education requirements
Start to develop specific senior instructional designer skills
Skills Percentages Instructional Design 8.57% Subject Matter Experts 6.99% Project Management 5.82% Blended Learning 4.50% PowerPoint 4.31% Complete relevant senior instructional designer training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior instructional designers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior instructional designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior instructional designer resumes.Research senior instructional designer duties and responsibilities
- Manage intranet sites, using Dreamweaver, for accessing e-Learning courses.
- Coach internal trainers on effective instructional design and PowerPoint presentation design.
- Have extensive experience communicating with SMEs to accurately capture and incorporate their expertise in course design.
- Edit and design images and graphics in Photoshop.
Get senior instructional designer experience
Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior instructional designer. The most common roles before becoming a senior instructional designer include instructional designer, senior technical writer team lead and technical writer.Prepare your senior instructional designer resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior instructional designer resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior instructional designer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable senior instructional designer resume templates
Build a professional senior instructional designer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior instructional designer resume.
Apply for senior instructional designer jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a senior instructional designer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
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Average senior instructional designer salary
The average senior instructional designer salary in the United States is $68,140 per year or $33 per hour. Senior instructional designer salaries range between $49,000 and $93,000 per year.
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How do senior instructional designers rate their job?
Updated January 8, 2025
