General Job Advice - Instructional Design Quality Control
Nov 27, 2018
Hi everyone. Newbie here! First, thanks to everyone for this wonderful resource. I have had the trial to Articulate 360 for almost two months while taking an Instructional Design course and this forum has been wonderful! I was able to quickly find the answer to every question I had.
Second, I am asking for some general job advice. I am a teacher librarian with several years of experience in both university settings and in K-12. I am looking to transition into instructional design. While I am certainly open to all areas (I will not be actively looking until the spring), I am especially intrigued by the quality assurance/quality control role. I'm curious about your thoughts on this role. Is it generally considered a more advanced role or more entry level? I have read some relevant job descriptions but I am still not clear on that. Also, any recommended paths to get there? I have read several of the posts on degrees and certificates (again, thank you!) and am trying to decide what to do next. The Instructional Design class I have just finished was one of my first classes toward an EdS in Instructional Technology. I think at this point that I may want to change directions - it is very focused on general K-12 technology and not on instructional design. Instead, I am considering possibly the ATD Instructional Design or Elearning Instructional Design Certificate.
Any advice is welcome. Again, thank you for such a great resource!
2 Replies
Hi Lanie. I'm so glad to hear that you've found so many great resources in the community!
Depending on the size and structure of the organization, an e-learning quality assurance role may be an independent job role on the IT team, a function of the instructional designer/developer, the role of the LMS administrator, and/or a function of the larger training or project team. Typically, a standalone QA role (i.e. not nested into another job function) is a far more technical than creative role. I think it really depends on how the function's been implemented in the organization and that varies quite a bit in my experience.
In terms of what might be most helpful from an educational standpoint, I've heard very good things about both ATD's ID and E-Learning certificate programs. Either of those sound like a good fit if you're looking to build skills for a broader pool of job opportunities outside of the K-12 world. Most private sector ID/e-learning jobs these days require a good deal of technical know-how or at least a willingness to acquire tech skills, so if you're someone who enjoys the tech-ier aspects of e-learning, but also the creative parts, you'll find there are lots of opportunities out there at all levels of experience. Learning the tools in Articulate 360, especially Storyline 360, will certainly open some doors for you, along with a nice portfolio of your work. I hope you'll find this article on what to include in an e-learning portfolio helpful if that's the direction you lean towards.
Best wishes, Lanie! With your background and interests, you have lots of opportunities open to you.
Hi Lanie,
To echo some of what Trina mentioned above, depending on the organization, you may find specific roles for QA, but they'll be far more technical.
With that being said, I wouldn't limit yourself to QA work. Download a free trial of Storyline and see if development is something that might interest you. If you find that you have a flair for it, you can then build upon your instructional design knowledge.
Best of luck!
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