Become an Instructional Designer on a Budget
How expensive is it to transition from teaching to instructional design? It doesn’t have to break the bank. I made my transition for a few hundred dollars.
I job hunted over a summer when I knew my last teaching paycheck would come in at the end of July. I didn’t have thousands to shell out for a bootcamp or academy or graduate certificate.
Here are just a few tips:
Use TPLD’s Self-Guided Path (linked on my blog in the comments). It’s a few years old now, but the basic steps are still very clear and easy to follow. I needed these explicit steps because I didn’t even know where to start.
Get LinkedIn Learning from your public library to learn theory and technical skills. You can spend just a bit more and take some great classes on Udemy as well.
Take advantage of the free trials of common tools used by instructional designers such as Storyline and Camtasia. My advice here is always to make a detailed plan in advance with the script, visuals, fonts, colors, triggers, interactions, etc. When you get the trial you can dive right into development.
Listen to podcasts and watch YouTube videos for free. I found hyper-targeted podcasts like the Teacher Career Coach, The L&D Career Club, and BLOC especially helpful. And instructional design YouTube channels are a wealth of information.
Follow more experienced individuals in the field on LinkedIn and learn from them. I inhaled the posts of people like Cara North, Tim Slade, Luke Hobson, Melissa Milloway, and Erin Lewber. I also looked up instructional designers at companies like Google and Microsoft and studied their profiles to see how they got there.
Buy used textbooks off Amazon and put yourself through a crash course.
Another way to save money is to develop a portfolio for free using a Google Site, well-designed slide deck, or PDF with links. You don’t need to purchase a fancy website and template.
Hope these tips save you a buck on your journey!
