E-Learning Design - How did you get started?

I came into my current instructional design position after having worked in previous jobs as a web designer/developer, computer teacher (grades 7-12 and adult learning) and technology coordinator, mentor in an online learning lab, and tech support person responsible for creating training videos and helping instructors build their online courses in Moodle. Even though I had never held the position of ID, my past jobs included just about every responsibility within ID. One area in which I didn't have experience, was with using an e-learning authoring tool, like Articulate. However, I easily and quickly picked it up. My biggest obstacle in getting into ID was not having a masters degree. Most of the job postings I saw required an advanced degree in ID or instructional/educational technology.

Currently, I supervise an ID support person, and whenever the position is vacant and I'm trying to fill it (like right now), I look for the following qualifications:

1. Experience using Articulate Studio/Storyline or a similar program
2. Experience performing teacher/admin tasks in an LMS
3. Online or classroom teaching experience
4. Experience using screencasting and Adobe software
5. Basic to intermediate web design skills

Nos. 1 and 2 are make-or-break items. If the applicant has Articulate experience but little or no LMS experience, I would be fine with that, as I desperately need hands-on course development help above all else and could manage the LMS work while the support person got acclimated with our three learning management systems. If the applicant has a strong LMS background but no experience using Articulate, I'd be more hesitant hiring that individual. The exception would be if the person has a very strong tech background that's similar to mine, and maybe had some teaching experience. In that case, I might feel a little more confident the applicant could learn Articulate on the job relatively quickly.