Leaving the Classroom: A Transitioning Teacher Podcast

How Much Do Instructional Designer Make? Plus 5 Factors That Affect Salary 

How does an instructional designer's salary compare to a teacher's salary? There are several factors to consider. In this episode, I discuss the 5 factors that can affect how much you make as an instructional designer, plus I give you some insight into how much you can make compared to a teaching role.

Listen to the episode here:

Connect with Kristi on LinkedIn  and Monica on LinkedIn

Enjoy the podcast transcription:

Hello, everyone. Welcome to leaving the classroom. I'm Kristi Oliva. I'm so glad you are here today. And today I'm talking about pay salary. How does an instructional designer salary compare to a teacher's salary? Well, according to world population review.com, the average teacher salary in the US is $66,397 per year, which comes out to $33 an hour. New York teachers make the most at 92,000 a year and Mississippi teachers...

I felt like a clumsy, awkward teenager trying to learn a new dance, a new style, and even a new language. I was attempting to blend in with a new culture, but in looking around, realized how much I still needed to learn before I could become a genuine part of this IDOL culture.

It was not long before I discovered...

Accountability is the glue that bonds commitment with results. ~ Will Craig

Starting out in instructional design a person may feel overwhelmed and lost. But there are secret weapons you can employ to help you reach your goal: Accountability Groups & Peer Review.

I was part of the the IDOL courses Academy's 4th cohort (June 2020). While I received lots of support and encouragement from the IDOL courses community and my peers, I would have not made much progress without my IDOL accountability group. They were divinely-sent as we all journeyed together to become IDOLs. They became a part of my success and I was to theirs. Even now, we still remain in contact with each other regularly. 

So, I want to share four benefits I’ve gained from being a part of an accountability group in the IDOL courses Academy:

1. Similar Starting Point - My IDOL accountability group consists of myself and four other ladies from different parts of the country. We all had little to no...

 I left public education for the corporate world. Once I updated my LinkedIn page and toggled on the switch “open for opportunities,” I was inundated with messages from recruiters who thought I would be the “perfect fit” for their opportunity. I was so excited! They were already knocking down my door to offer me a job. I will land my coveted IDOL role in no time I thought.  I quickly learned that was not the case. I had become part of the very competitive world of recruiting.  The recruiting process is more about helping the hiring company and recruiting firm than it is about helping a candidate land her dream job. 

Companies often hire external recruiters to find viable candidates to fill open positions. Recruiters search for those candidates in places such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and other job...

Are you getting ghosted after interviews?

Are you relying on friends & family members for feedback on your portfolio?

Do you wish you had a community to guide & support you during the job search process?

You can go from being ghosted to becoming one of your future company’s best hires with IDOL courses Academy. I did!

Before joining IDOL courses Academy, I was a literacy teacher/teacher trainer & coach, who was spinning her wheels on how to officially break into the instructional design industry. 

I dove in taking courses, reading books & blogs, listening to podcasts, and watching YouTube videos. In 2019, I even attended the ATD conference, networked, and attended the career center, where I managed to land two interviews.

One of the interviews seemed promising. I liked the team, and I had a feeling that they liked me, too. Then, they popped the big question: “Do you have a portfolio?” 

I did not. I only had a couple of samples I had created...

1. Get familiar with the major theories of how people learn.

Before you can apply a theory, you need to understand it. In most learning design graduate programs you’ll get to deep dive into learning theories like behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism and others, but you don’t have to join a graduate program to do this. IDOL courses Academy includes bite-sized modules on the major theories you’ll need to know as a learning designer. A good test for whether you’re familiar with a learning theory is whether you can describe it simply, with the kind of language you might use when chatting with a...

Are you at a point in your career where you are looking for a change?  Are you looking for something new, but you can’t transfer your current skills? Or your school went remote, and in your research about working from home and creating online courses, you learned about instructional design as a career option. Then I am speaking to you!

IDOL courses is the sponsor of the Become an Instructional Designer and Online Learning (IDOL) Developer Facebook group.  When a person joins, there are 3 questions you need to answer, so owner Robin Sargent can provide content and help those who have the goal of becoming an IDOL or advance their career. 

1. Are you looking for a career change, or are you an instructional design expert looking to help and mentor new instructional designers?
2. What is your instructional design experience? 
3. What are your challenges? What keeps you stuck from becoming an IDOL? Or what would you like to learn from this group?

Today, I want to...