Why did you pursue a career in the instructional design and technology field?
To make a long story short, I grew to love the field and the way instructional designers think. I like the interplay between designing with a wide, learner-centric view and then getting into the nitty-gritty details of development. I love being able to develop and use soft skills and technology/computer skills every day. I never have to shelf creativity or logical organization - they are both essential. I love being able to work with and pick the brains of subject matter experts across all domains and subjects. Mostly, I love learning and I love having a job where I have to learn something new every day and I get to help shape learning experiences that other people can enjoy. What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities in your roles? It depends on my current project. It can vary from designing and implementing live virtual soft skills training to developing asynchronous tool training. Other days I am running statistical tests on the data we collect from those trainings or creating reports of my findings from my analyses. I also work closely with a team of other learning engineers so I spend a good amount of time collaborating, reviewing, and brainstorming with them. How have you found your jobs? What advice do you have for someone trying to find a job in the instructional design and technology field? Mostly through connections with IP&T faculty and alumni. I'm pretty new to the field, so most came from connections through the university. For example, one was an internship posted on the IP&T listserv. My current position was through asking an alumni for any connections he had. In what ways did your graduate program prepare you for your career? It gave me opportunities to practice in a realistic, mentored setting on real projects. I also gained a foundational understanding of processes and theories as they should be applied in an ideal setting, which has allowed me to apply them in the workforce with more consistency. It revamped my statistical experience, which has been a differentiator for me. Finally, I was able to identify and develop areas that were/are weaknesses in my own instructional design abilities (as well as areas that are my strengths) enabling me to continue to grow in the future.
Why did you pursue a career in the instructional design and technology field?
I liked the design process and I was interested in learning because I had to discover a lot about learning on my own to find workarounds for dyslexia. What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities in your roles? As a product manager I need to recognize the demand and make the business case for software products. I have to create plans for market validation, design, development, go to market, and continuous improvement. I generally manage the day to day work of software engineers, QA engineers, and data scientists with agile methodologies, though those team members usually report to other managers. As a PM you have to use influence to achieve product success without being the supervisor of most of your team. I manage the product, not the people. I also have to represent the company at conferences in presentations or at the vendor booths. I also use my research background for product marketing to create white papers or organize research studies with client institutions. How have you found your jobs? What advice do you have for someone trying to find a job in the instructional design and technology field? It is important to have a good resume (use a paid service to evaluate your resume, get it aligned to the key words for your industry, etc.). You should over prepare for your interviews, practice role playing with someone more experienced than you. Come up with a list of at least three questions about the company or role for each person you interview with. Make a bullet list of your accomplishments and their attributes and practice taking about them in the context of answers to a variety of questions. Get comfortable talking about yourself in short power statements (e.g. I am an "x", a "y", and a "z", for example......etc., this shows how I can bring my ability for x, y and z to your organization). Be prepared to say in an interview what you would do to help improve some important aspect of the company, product or service in the role you are applying for. Applying for jobs directly without an inside connection to the company isn't usually a successful strategy, especially in your early career. You must network. Connect with everyone in your circles on LinkedIn (your ward, your program, your parent's ward, your coworkers, people you meet at conferences, etc.) as you build you network, you can look in their contacts and ask for informational interviews or introductions to people in the industry or at the companies you are interested in joining. Set up job alerts for roles you are seeking but always look for a way to connect with someone at the company where you would like to work. An internal referral is the best way to get an interview. Once you get your job, be sure to reach back out to the people who helped you and networked with and thank them. Find a mentor. Lastly, create a close knit group of people you trust in your field and meet with them regularly to share best practices and discuss how to overcome challenges you are facing. In what ways did your graduate program prepare you for your career? I went into the corporate instructional design world after my masters because I was worried about a low pay ceiling in higher education. I discovered software product management through some projects at work and decided that I wanted to make a transition. I initially tried to get into some top business schools but was not successful so I started the IP&T PhD program where I discovered MOOCs and Learning Analytics. My research emphasis opened the doors to Stanford where I designed project-based learning MOOCs for large scale online classes. I had become interested in the EdTech entrepreneurship world so when a professor I worked with at Stanford asked me to join one of his student's startups I made the jump. I founded DropThought Education, a student feedback platform, as part of a parent startup DropThought. After DropThought's acquisition, I wanted to stay in the analytics space and focus on helping drive social justice, upward mobility, and student success in higher education so I joined Starfish (Hobsons) as an analytics product manager for the academic advising platform. I then transitioned to my current position at Burning Glass where I manage workforce insights products for higher education clients. I use my instructional design background every day in the design process for product management as well as in how I think about user personas, product marketing, customer adoption, and customer training. The learning theory/learning sciences concepts I acquired in my Ph.D. have provided me with important insight and credibility that have helped my EdTech employers. The research and statistics background from the program has been critical to my analytics career and in helping my EdTech employers stay honest in their efficacy claims.
Why did you pursue a career in the instructional design and technology field?
I'm really passionate about creating great learning experiences. What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities in your roles? Developing e-learning courses, content creation, working with SMEs, developing assessments. How have you found your jobs? What advice do you have for someone trying to find a job in the instructional design and technology field? Mostly through networking! Making connections is key. In what ways did your graduate program prepare you for your career? The skills I have learned in IP&T are very similar to what I use in my work.
Why did you pursue a career in the instructional design and technology field?
I noticed a need for it, especially in technical fields. I wanted to improve technical education (particularly in engineering). What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities in your roles? As a research assistant, I'm designing an augmented reality learning experience for the BYU library using their globe exhibit. I also am helping to create and run a makerspace for the McKay School of Education at BYU. How have you found your jobs? What advice do you have for someone trying to find a job in the instructional design and technology field? Word of mouth, applying to jobs online, connecting with BYU alumni. In what ways did your graduate program prepare you for your career? It has helped me to problem-solve and improve my user-centered design skills.
Why did you pursue a career in the instructional design and technology field?
Instructional design is the intersection of what I enjoy! Since playing "school" as a child, I have always loved thinking about how to make both informal and formal learning experiences better. After taking a few classes in an Elementary Education undergrad program, I started to feel that daily classroom teaching was not my calling in life. One day, a guest presenter came in to talk about a graduate program focused on the using psychology of learning and technology to improve instruction. In that moment I had a feeling that's where I would go. I started seeking out campus jobs that were related to the field of instructional design, and those experiences confirmed that it was the right fit! I haven't looked back since. What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities in your roles?
How have you found your jobs? What advice do you have for someone trying to find a job in the instructional design and technology field? It has been a different experience for me each time! It started with looking daily on the BYU jobs website for positions related to instructional design when I was in my undergrad. Due to those positions and my graduate program, I was able to network with many instructional design professionals during my time at BYU. For example, I attended a "Meet the Designer" dinner where I interacted with a professional, who later contacted me about a job opening where I went to do contract work for him. For my internship, they didn't actually have an open position! I researched the company and loved their mission, so I sent them an email explaining my interest in an internship and they worked with me to set it up. It never hurts to reach out and make connections, even if it doesn't lead to a job. Once I graduated with my master's, I attended a job fair and gave my resume to several companies. I wasn't initially interested in one, but as I talked with them I saw it would be a great way to start working in the field. A little more than a year in that position, I indicated on LinkedIn that I was open to new opportunities. Qualtrics reached out and through a rigorous interview process I knew it would be a challenging, but exciting opportunity. I firmly believe in always seeking out experiences that will stretch my abilities and help me grow as a designer. In what ways did your graduate program prepare you for your career? My master's program at BYU prepared me for my career in many ways! First off, general learning theory and instructional design courses laid the foundation for how I think about improving learning experiences. Clear writing is essential in instructional design, and my coursework and the experience of writing a thesis definitely refined my writing skills. Evaluation and research courses gave me a good foundation for thinking about best practices in writing assessments and conducting user research. I would recommend the project management class to anyone, as it permeates any instructional designer's daily work. The authoring tools class was one of the most directly applicable and useful classes. Generally, the graduate program exposed me to the many types and avenues of instructional design, which helped me better understand my options and how I can shape my career. It also connected me to many amazing classmates, who now work in the field...and some of whom I work with now!
Why did you pursue a career in the instructional design and technology field?
I pursued a career in instructional design because I care about education and wanted to expand my opportunity to have impact for good. The platforms you can teach through are expanding and I wanted to learn how to utilize the tools effectively. What are some of your day-to-day responsibilities in your roles? Instruct courses on personal development, train trainers, work on a team to develop company learning programs, coaching, talent manage. How have you found your jobs? What advice do you have for someone trying to find a job in the instructional design and technology field? I have loved my jobs. I feel like I have had opportunity to be exposed to many different fields of study and learning approaches. I've had opportunity to use the skills we learned in our program and deepen them. The most rewarding parts of my career have been with the people I get to work with and have an impact on through my roles. The advice I have is to remember that there are people impacted by all your tasks and they matter most. In what ways did your graduate program prepare you for your career? My graduate program has helped me to be intentional in the work I do. I feel the knowledge and skills gained have been invaluable to performing jobs well. The professors, other students, and BYU as a whole built me as a person and increased my capacity. I'm very grateful. |
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Learn more about the career paths and day-to-day responsibilities of people working in the corporate sector of the IDT field! Respondents are students and alumni of the BYU IP&T program.
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