Part 4: Transitioning Jobs on a Tight Budget
Being the frugal budgeter that I am, pinching pennies whilst training up to become an instructional designer came naturally to me.
There are bootcamps, academies, certificates, and degrees that you can attend for instructional design. These range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, and that just wasn’t an option for me.
The free or budget friendly resources I took advantage of include:
Udemy and LinkedIn Learning- I probably spend ~150 on a few courses. Finding a half-off promo code for one Udemy class helped as well, so keep an eye out for those.
Textbooks- I bought these on Amazon, used if I could, and read through them slowly, taking notes, and seeking out other peoples’ summaries or reviews of the content to help internalize the material.
YouTube tutorials- I watched free videos during lunch every day. The content I watched included a mix of tutorials about Storyline/Camtasia, interviews with IDs, and pretty much everything on Devlin Peck’s and Tim Slade’s channels.
Podcasts- Podcasts about instructional design were great for when I needed to stop staring at a screen. I would throw my pup in his harness and hit the pavement for a long walk while I listened. Good for car rides as well. Nyla Sp0oner’s ‘I’m New Here’ is a good place to start.
Software Trials- Camtasia and Articulate 360 come with free trials. I planned out all the content I wanted to develop beforehand, and then once I downloaded the trials, I didn’t have to waste any time mapping out my ideas.
Bottom line: you don’t have to break the bank to switch jobs. If you are disciplined, tackling a career transition can be done on a tight budget with some careful planning.
