Abstract
As recognition of the roles and contributions of Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) professionals has increased, so has the demand for their skills in the workplace whether in higher education institutions or business entities. However, there remains some ambiguity, especially in higher education, about who IDTs are and what they do. There are also questions about who is hiring them. This content analysis study of 250 advertised higher education and corporate IDT positions found no fewer than 9 job titles, 13 academic programs, 5 degree levels, work experience from 1 to 10 years, and compensation that ranged from an hourly pay to a six-digit annual salary. Required skillsets included not only technical and analytical expertise but personal qualities. This study was conducted to provide a current look at the employment opportunities for Instructional Designers and Instructional Technologists.
Highlights
The Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) field has continued to grow and so has the demand for IDTs in various work contexts, prompting this study to look at the hiring trends in higher education and corporate settings based on the content analysis of position announcements for instructional designers and instructional technologists
A content analysis was done of 250 position announcements for instructional designers and instructional technologists posted on the popular online job search engine .com between March and June of 2019
These questions provided a framework for an analysis of position announcements for IDTs: Which organizations are hiring IDTs? What are the job titles found in the advertised IDT positions? What academic programs prepared IDTs for advertised positions? What academic degrees were sought for the advertised IDT positions? What IDT experience and skills were identified in the advertised IDT positions? How many years of IDT experience were sought in the advertised IDT positions? What salary compensation information was included in the advertised IDT positions?
Summary
The IDT field has continued to grow and so has the demand for IDTs in various work contexts, prompting this study to look at the hiring trends in higher education and corporate settings based on the content analysis of position announcements for instructional designers and instructional technologists. The increasing need to provide efficient instructional interventions to improve employee performance as well as the quality of their services or products in business, industry, government, military, and healthcare, and the need to improve teaching and learning in online and classroom environments in educational organizations, calls for IDTs with commensurate skills and abilities (Raynis, 2018). The need has been further boosted by developments in learning theories, instructional design models, emerging technologies, growing interest in online learning, and advancements in communication technologies, all of which multiply the diversity of instructional delivery methods. These developments further call for new and enhanced skills and competencies of IDTs (Moallem, 1995)
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