In What Sectors Do People in the IDT Field Work?

People working in the diverse field of Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) may work in a variety of sectors including corporate, higher education, K-12, government, museums, and non-profit or religious.

​Let's learn about what it's like to work within some of the most common sectors. Read the descriptions and watch the videos pertaining to the sectors that interest you most.
For more information, see the following resources:
  • Section VI of the Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology, an open textbook edited by Richard E. West of Brigham Young University.
  • Chapter 2 of ESLTECH 6223 Issues and Practices in Learning Technologies 2019, a textbook by graduate students at Ohio State University.

Sources: Bowman, M., Ely, J., & Shortt, M. (2019). Chapter 2 – The diverse field of instructional design. In ESLTECH 6223 Issues and Practices in Learning Technologies 2019
West, R. (2018). VI Preparing for an LIDT Career. In R. West (Ed.), Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology (1st ed.)
Jump to:
Corporate
Higher Education
K-12
Government and Military
​Museums

Corporate
There are a large variety of positions within the corporate sector of the IDT field. As a few examples, a person working in the corporate sector may:
  • Create or manage the creation of internal training within the Human Resources, Learning and Development, Sales or other departments of a company.
  • Create or manage the creation of external training (e.g., about the company's product or service) within the Customer Success, Sales, Account Management, or other department of a company.
  • Create or manage the creation of training for a custom eLearning company.
  • Perform consulting work for a company or a variety of companies.

According to an article by Franklin University, instructional designers may be especially in demand in the following sub-sectors:
  • Banking and financial services
  • Biotechnology
  • Consulting services
  • Creative arts
  • Medical and healthcare
  • Technology and software

Higher Education

People working in the higher education sector of the IDT field may work as instructional designers, traditional faculty members, library media specialists, and educational researchers, among other roles.

Instructional designers design face-to-face courses, online courses, or blended courses (i.e., courses that have both face-to-face and online components). They often create the courses in a learning management system (LMS; e.g., Canvas or Blackboard), or in another tool (e.g., Articulate Storyline or Adobe Captivate) that they import into an LMS. At some universities, instructional designers work within a specific college or department; at other universities, instructional designers work for all colleges and departments.

For more information, see the Careers in Academia chapter of the Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology open textbook on EdTech Books.

K-12

People working in the higher-education sector of the IDT field often wear many hats. They may work as instructional designers, subject-matter experts, graphic designers, and IT specialists—all from the same role. Instructional designers analyze data to measure student performance, implement new curriculum for students, and help create materials to encourage.

For more information, see the Careers in K-12 Education chapter of the Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology open textbook on EdTech Books. In addition, see ​Chapter 2 of ESLTECH 6223 Issues and Practices in Learning Technologies 2019.

Government and Military
Instructional designers have played an important role in government and military training since World War II, when the United States military faced an urgent need to quickly educate thousands of soldiers. At that time, the United States government produced hundreds of educational films for soldiers and brought together psychologists and educators (Robert Gagné, Leslie Briggs, and John Flanagan, among others) to conduct research and develop training. Today, various sectors of the federal and state government employ IDT professionals to train employees, military members, and the public.

Source: Reiser, R.A. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part I: A history of instructional media. Educational Technology, Research & Development, 49(1), 53-64.

Museums
Instructional design principles help museum exhibit designers create effective and engaging experiences for museum patrons. Museum exhibit designers may have educational backgrounds in museum studies, instructional design, industrial design, art, art history, or other fields. 

For more information, read the Careers in Museum Learning chapter of the Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology open textbook on EdTech Books.