To become an instructional designer, you learn the fundamentals (how adults learn and the corporate ID process) and the tools (Articulate Storyline, Rise and AI), then build a portfolio of work samples that proves you can do the job. You don't need a master's degree. Hiring managers look at your portfolio first. The steps below are in the order you'll take them.
Corporate instructional design is designing the training a company gives its employees, like new hire training, software rollouts, compliance and leadership programs. You get the content from a subject matter expert and decide how to teach it so people do something differently afterward.
Instructional designers design and build the training people take at work: new hire training, software rollouts, compliance, leadership programs. You partner with a subject matter expert who knows the topic, and you decide how to teach it so people actually do something differently afterward.
You work behind the scenes. Most of what you build is eLearning people take on their own, with no instructor. When there is a trainer, in the room or on Zoom, you design what they deliver.
When I tell people what I do, they often say, “Oh, you create those boring trainings.” Those were usually built by a subject matter expert who knows the topic well and was never taught how to teach it. That's where we come in.
On the left: the security policy slide a subject matter expert built from the policy document. On the right: the same content after an instructional designer got hold of it.
The learner is dropped into the exact situation where the policy matters, at 4:52 on a Tuesday, before anyone explains anything.
Eight bullets became one question with three choices. The learner has to commit, which is where the learning happens.
Pick the link and the next screen shows the fallout. The learner sees it, feels it, and gets to choose again.
The 12-character rule and the reporting steps show up after the scenario, when the learner wants them. Same facts, better order.
Most instructional designers work for companies of every size and industry, training their employees. Government agencies and nonprofits hire IDs too. Higher ed and ed tech are separate paths with different processes and tools, and this guide focuses on corporate, government and nonprofit ID.
This is the most common type of Instructional Design. You design training for companies to train their employees. These companies could be large Fortune 500 companies or small organizations. The topics vary widely: job functions, compliance, systems, soft skills, policies, and procedures.
Some examples of what you might design training for:
Corporate training takes place in every organization in every industry, including finance, healthcare, oil and gas, cybersecurity, property management, hospitality, and many others.
Government IDs are hired at all levels (federal, state, local) to create training for other government employees or for the public. Non-profit organizations hire IDs to create internal training for employees or external training for donors and the audiences they serve.
On the higher ed side, Instructional Designers usually help faculty move their courses online, update them, and incorporate new technology. Higher Ed IDs are usually not creating training from scratch, although they may sometimes be asked to create a new course.
The processes and tools used in Corporate and Higher Ed ID are very different. Creating a 30-minute training for employees is very different from a college course that lasts a semester. Learning in higher ed is usually built inside the Learning Management System directly (Canvas, Blackboard) vs. built separately and uploaded to an LMS like in corporate.
There is an ID-adjacent field called Ed Tech that involves creating educational materials for schools, but you don't actually work for the school district. You work for a vendor that the school district buys learning materials from. The processes and tools are very different from corporate.
The rest of this guide focuses on corporate, government, and non-profit Instructional Design.
Flexibility, good pay and work-life balance. 61% of AIDA grads work fully remote and 29% hybrid, corporate roles usually come with benefits, and you spend your days designing how people learn.
Among grads of the Applied Instructional Design Academy (AIDA), 61% work fully remote, 29% hybrid and 10% on-site. Hybrid means you go into the office some of the time, so you live within reach of it. You can work a full-time, 40-hour-a-week job or do contract work where you often set your own schedule. Even working full-time, you usually don't clock in or out and have the flexibility to handle things during the day as long as you get your work done.
Every organization trains its people, from new hires to compliance to the new software rolling out next quarter. Since the pandemic, more of that training happens online, and IDs are the ones who build it.
Corporate ID pays well, and full-time roles usually come with benefits and often an annual bonus. What you earn depends on your location, industry, and how you negotiate. Contract roles pay by the hour, and your rate can grow as you build experience.
This is a job where you get paid for what you work and shut your computer off at 5pm. You don't work weekends, and often your boss will have to tell you to stop working if you're working too much. That's not to say there won't be deadlines and crunch times, but for the most part, you won't feel stressed or overworked.
You're usually trusted to manage your own time and your own projects. Stepping out for an appointment doesn't take a permission slip, and your work gets evaluated on what it does for the people who take it.
You spend your days designing how people learn: mapping content, writing scenarios, building interactions. If planning and creating is the part of your current job you love most, ID is that part, all day.
No. It's getting more crowded, but most applicants on any posting have no portfolio and no understanding of the corporate ID process. Prepare properly and build a strong portfolio, and you're not competing with them.
No. Instructional Design is not saturated, but it is getting more crowded. The demand for IDs who are actually prepared is strong. Most of the applicants on any job posting have no portfolio, no relevant samples, and no understanding of the corporate ID process. If you prepare properly, you are not competing with them.
Of the 445 AIDA grads who told us how they found their ID job, 32% found it on LinkedIn, and 40% found it through networking: their own network, another AIDA grad or career services.
Hiring managers will tell you that when they see 200 applicants on a posting, most of them have done nothing to prepare. And entry-level IDs aren't competing for the same jobs as experienced IDs. Many companies can't pay the high rates experienced IDs are charging, and many experienced IDs have fallen out of the market because they haven't kept up with their skills. So if you're transitioning now, you're competing with other newer IDs, and most of them haven't done the work to stand out. Follow the steps in this guide, create a strong portfolio, and you will.
It also feels more crowded than it is because when we're focused on something, it's at the forefront of our everyday reality. It's like buying a red car and driving it off the lot, and all of a sudden, all the cars you see are red. Ask your friends and family that you haven't discussed this career transition with if they've heard of ID. I bet the answer is no. It's still one of the best kept secrets out there.
Morgan Stevens taught high school science for 11 years and went through AIDA with three kids under six at home. Here's how she remembers the saturation question:
People in the chat were asking, ‘Is it saturated?’ I had three job offers, and I was able to negotiate my salary.
AI is part of the job now, a tool like Storyline and Rise. Employers hire for AI fluency: knowing when to use AI, evaluating what it gives you and owning the final work. Your ID fundamentals are how you judge and fix what AI produces.
AI is part of the job now, and it's part of how you train for it. IDs use AI to draft content, generate ideas, build interactions, and shave hours off development. Employers are looking for IDs who can do that well. What they're hiring for is AI fluency: knowing when AI belongs in a task, giving it what it needs, evaluating what comes back, and owning the final work.
Human in the loop means you stay in charge the whole way through. AI can draft a whole course, and it still can't sit in a kickoff meeting and ask the right questions, or tell that the interaction on slide 12 won't work for your audience. You can, because you know adult learning, the ID process, and what good looks like. Those fundamentals are how you evaluate what AI gives you and fix what's off.
AI fluency also goes with you from tool to tool. AI tools change fast, and your employer may only allow the ones they've approved, so you learn a way of working that fits any of them. AIDA teaches it with the LEAD AI Framework™ from Learning Strategy & Design: Lock it in, Evaluate the output, Adjust and iterate, and Deliver with confidence, with Protect around all four. You learn it alongside ID fundamentals at the start, use it on the samples you build, and show it on your portfolio's Working with AI page.
Basic tech comfort (no coding), a love of learning and the ID skills you build and then show in your portfolio. No specific background is required. Teachers, trainers and people from many other fields make the move.
You need basic tech skills, like being comfortable in PowerPoint, but there's no coding or anything super technical involved. You need a love of learning, because you are building learning every day and every project is different. You'll likely work across a variety of industries in your career, so you'll be learning about a lot of different things.
No specific background is needed. Many educators come into the field, and so do people from higher ed, corporate and safety training, marketing, social work, nonprofits, government and the military. Your background gets you part of the way. The ID skills you don't have yet, you learn and then show in your portfolio.
Either one. You can be a full-time employee with a salary and benefits, take contract projects that usually run 3 to 12 months through an agency, or freelance by finding your own clients.
One of the biggest benefits of working as an ID is the flexibility. You can work full-time or part-time as an employee or as a contractor/freelancer.
Among AIDA grads who reported paid ID work, 75% are employees and 25% work on contract. Contract is a common way in, too: 42% started their first ID job on a contract or freelance basis.
You get hired as an ID to work in the training department for a company as an employee. This is a salaried job, usually 40 hours a week, with benefits like health insurance, retirement (401k) with match, paid time off, sick leave, and work-from-home stipends. Some companies have one training department for the whole organization, while others have multiple departments in areas like HR, IT, and sales. You could be creating training for one department or for the entire company. Sometimes there is one ID and sometimes there is a whole team, depending on the size of the organization.
You can get hired as a contractor for a finite period of time, usually 3-12 months. This is often to complete a temporary project that the company doesn't have the capacity to do internally. Contractors typically work through third-party agencies. These agencies can be general recruiting firms or agencies that specifically hire contractors for training and Instructional Design projects. The nice thing about the training-specific agencies is that once you get in with them, they often have lots of projects with different clients to keep you busy.
These projects can be full-time or part-time hours. Full-time often guarantees 40 hours a week for the duration of the project, while part-time only pays for the hours you work. Many full-time contracts send you a computer with software to use. Some contracts are W2 (you are an employee for the duration) and some are 1099 (you are an independent contractor). You find these contracts on job sites like Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn.
Some people call contract work freelancing, while others define freelancing as getting your own contracts independently. For example, say you talk to a business owner at a networking event and they need someone to develop their onboarding training. You would sign a contract directly with that company rather than applying on a job site and going through a third-party agency.
Mostly eLearning, the self-paced courses built in eLearning authoring tools like Storyline and Rise. You may also design virtual and in-person instructor-led training, microlearning like job aids and short videos, and blended programs that combine them.
If you've ever taken an online training course that was completely asynchronous (no live instructor) where you clicked through screens to get to the end and get credit, that was eLearning. There is no instructor to drive the point home, so the online module has to carry all the weight while still being engaging. eLearning is often connected to a Learning Management System (LMS) which tracks who has completed it. eLearning authoring tools like Articulate Storyline and Rise are used to create it.
This is still 100% virtual and online but it is live with an instructor. Think Zoom training where everyone logs on at the same time and the instructor facilitates the session. eLearning authoring tools are not needed here. The instructor usually uses a PowerPoint or presentation along with a Facilitator's Guide. You design the PowerPoint and Facilitator's Guide that the instructor would use.
Same as vILT but in person. Think traditional classroom training for adults. This is not as common since the pandemic but it does come up.
Companies are always looking for ways to create short learning experiences that promote behavior change without taking a lot of time. This is any short (under 5 minutes or so) training that could be a video (using tools like Camtasia and Vyond) or a document (job aid, quick reference guide, cheat sheet).
This is any combination of two or more of the methods above. For example, training new customer service reps might include some eLearning modules, followed by vILT so they get face time with an instructor, plus a job aid to take back to their desks. That's blended learning.
Both happen. You might be the only ID at a company or one of 10 or more on a training team. On a contract, you might join a team of internal IDs or be the only ID on the project.
It can be both. For full-time jobs, you may work for a large organization with 10+ IDs or you may be the only ID. You may work in a centralized training department or sit within a specific department like HR, IT, or engineering. For contract work, you may be the only outside ID on a team of internal IDs, or you may be the only ID they've hired for a project.
You'll see instructional designer, eLearning developer, learning experience designer and training specialist, plus LMS administrator and trainer, which are different jobs. Read the job description, because the same title can mean different work at different companies.
This position usually encompasses the entire project lifecycle, from kickoff meeting and analysis through design, development, and implementation. Sometimes, an Instructional Designer only handles the analysis and design phases and turns development over to an eLearning Developer.
This position mostly focuses on development, meaning you are working in the eLearning authoring tools (Articulate Storyline and Rise). You're often handed a storyboard for a course that's already designed, and you're bringing it to life. Think of it like a home builder who is handed a blueprint and then goes on to build the home.
A newer title that is often very similar to an Instructional Designer. Learning Experience Design puts the learner first and combines learning with user experience. Well, so does Instructional Design.
This one can mean different things, so you have to dig into the job description. It could mean you will be an Instructional Designer with a different title, or it could be a trainer role where you are actually facilitating sessions.
This is the person who uploads training modules to the LMS, tracks completion for compliance, and runs reports. These duties are not Instructional Designer duties, but IDs often end up doing them at smaller companies where people share multiple hats.
Someone who interacts directly with learners and facilitates sessions, either in person (ILT) or virtually (vILT). eLearning doesn't involve a trainer.
There are 11. First you learn: your mindset, adult learning principles, the corporate ID process, the software tools, visual design and design deliverables. Then you put it to work: your portfolio, resume, LinkedIn, interviews and experience.
There are 11 steps to becoming an instructional designer. Here they are, in the order you'll take them.
Transitioning into a new career can be scary because you're stepping into the unknown as the new kid on the block. Learning new things as an adult isn't always easy. Often, the voices in our head (or outside our head) show up and deter us from our goals. This causes imposter syndrome and loss of momentum, because our brain wants to do what is comfortable, even if it's not the best path. Start creating new pathways and a new normal. These little voices never fully go away, but you can start to recognize them so you can squash them and not let them derail you.
The main theories you need to know are Adult Learning Principles. If you learn these and nothing else, you will be fine in this career. You can go down a rabbit hole of theory, but it's not necessary. The key is learning how to apply adult learning principles to your work.
The most popular model for the Instructional Design project lifecycle is the ADDIE model: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.
Analysis is where you identify all the pieces to the puzzle before you start. This can be a full needs analysis done through research, surveys, and interviews, or it can be a single kickoff meeting where you ask stakeholders the right questions. You'll identify who your learners are, the goals and objectives, and the gap between current state and desired state.
Design is one of the two largest phases. This is where you map out your learning solution, like an architect creating a blueprint. You decide on delivery method, seat time, flow, level, and interactions to keep the learner engaged. Deliverables include a design document and storyboard.
Development is the second largest phase, where you build what you designed. For eLearning, this is where you get into Storyline or Rise and develop from your storyboard. For instructor-led training, you create the Facilitator's Guide and PowerPoint.
Implementation is where your learning solution gets rolled out to learners. For eLearning, this is when it's uploaded to the LMS.
Evaluation happens at various points. There are assessments at the end of a module to check if learners retained the material, and ideally, follow-up evaluation on the job to see if behavior actually changed.
There is also the SAM model (Successive Approximation Model), which is ADDIE applied to real life. SAM starts with a “Savvy Start” (usually a kickoff meeting rather than a full analysis), puts the emphasis on Design and Development where it belongs, and shows the cyclical movement that actually happens with feedback and revision.
When you look at job descriptions, there are often a million tools listed. In most cases, you don't need to know all of them. These are the tools you need to know:
Articulate Storyline is the most commonly used eLearning authoring tool in the field. I describe it as PowerPoint on steroids. It's slide-based like PowerPoint and has a similar menu, but with a lot of additional functionality. No coding required, but it is a medium-level learning curve. Articulate offers a 14-day free trial.
Articulate Rise is the second most commonly used tool. It's much easier to learn than Storyline, web-based (no download needed), and creates courses that look more like web pages you scroll through. Rise is included in the same Articulate free trial.
Camtasia is a video editing tool for creating short instructional videos using real footage or screen capture.
Vyond is an animation tool for creating short, engaging instructional videos.
AI tools and fluency belong in your toolkit too. Rise and Storyline both have AI features built in, and AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot help with drafting, research, and building. You don't need to learn every AI tool. Employers look for AI fluency, which carries from one tool to the next (more on that in the AI section).
Just because you know how to use the tool doesn't mean you know how to create GOOD eLearning with it. Think about writing an essay in Microsoft Word. You need to know how to use Word, but knowing the software doesn't mean the essay is engaging or that anyone wants to read it.
Visual design means making sure your modules are visually pleasing with appropriate white space, color contrast, and limited blocks of text.
Visual communication is about communicating a message visually on screen since there is no instructor. This means using imagery, photos, and graphs that convey a message instead of relying on text.
Usability means making sure there are clear instructions when learners need to click on something or complete an interaction, and that the module is intuitively easy to use.
Many people new to the field jump to learning how to create the end product (a completed course) and forget that Instructional Design is a systematic process where the design is planned out before the end product is built. For eLearning, that design takes place in the form of a design document and storyboard. Become familiar with these deliverables, because you will need to know the difference and how to work with a subject matter expert to create them.
Then you put it to work:
It's how you learn the skills in these steps. Five stages (Think, Build, Iterate, Prove and Land) build your skills one layer at a time, with expert feedback on every piece until it's approved for your portfolio.
Once you know what you need to learn, the Applied ID Portfolio Method is how you actually learn it. You build the skills from steps 1 through 6 one layer at a time, and each piece goes into your portfolio once it's approved (step 7).
The Applied ID Portfolio Method, developed by Jill Davidian of Learning Strategy & Design, is a five-stage method that takes career changers from zero instructional design experience to their first ID job through scaffolded skill-building, iterative expert reviews and the LEAD AI Framework for working with AI, producing a portfolio that shows the core ID skills and the AI skills employers now hire for.
I've taught it in AIDA from the beginning, and more than 1,200 graduates have gone through it. It rests on two things. You build your skills in a scaffolded sequence, one layer at a time, and you get expert feedback on every piece of work, in a loop, until it's portfolio-grade. AI is part of the job now, so it runs through the method too.
The method has five stages:
Think. Learn to think like an instructional designer. Adult learning theory, writing objectives, designing assessments, mapping content, all built for a corporate environment. Plus AI for IDs and the LEAD AI Framework, how you work with AI on every project. This stage builds the foundation everything else stands on.
Build. Create real course samples in the tools employers use, plus the project documents every working ID produces. Your first sample is a Rise course that Rise's AI drafts from your brief, and your job is to evaluate it, fix it, and make it good. Next you build a Storyline sample from scratch, starting with your own content map, and use Storyline's AI Assistant on your advanced interaction, evaluating every trigger it builds. Then you write the design document and storyboard for that sample, and you finish with a job aid. Nothing hypothetical. Every deliverable is built for your portfolio from day one.
Iterate. Every piece goes through Portfolio-Grade Reviews: expert feedback, revise, resubmit, and repeat until it earns approval. You don't move on with a C. This is the loop that separates a 3-out-of-10 portfolio from one that reads like years of experience. Most programs give feedback once and send you on your way. Feedback you receive but never implement (or implement wrong) doesn't change your work.
Prove. Turn the work into proof: a portfolio website, case studies that show your thinking and a Working with AI page that shows how you use AI. It shows the skills you haven’t had a job to prove yet, and your resume and LinkedIn can point to it. This is where hiring managers stop seeing a career changer and start seeing an instructional designer.
Land. Active job search with real support: mock interviews, networking strategy, salary negotiation, and how to answer the AI question in interviews with real examples from your own work.
Six things: a Storyline sample, a Rise sample, a design document, a storyboard, a job aid or other microlearning and a Working with AI page. Build corporate samples from scratch, because an employer needs to see you can do the job you want.
Your portfolio is a compilation of items showcasing what you can do. Many people worry they can't create one because they don't have past work to show. That's OK, because you usually couldn't use past work anyway since it's often proprietary. If you're coming from education, you do not want to include education samples. You'll create new, corporate-focused samples from scratch.
Think of it as a gift, because in many fields you don't get to showcase your work when you enter. They're taking a chance on you without seeing what you can do. In ID, you have the ability to show them. Most new IDs entering the field don't have portfolios (per many hiring managers), so having a good one will set you apart.
Is a portfolio required? Absolutely. It will be extremely hard and almost impossible to get a job without one.
There are six core things your portfolio needs:
I will be honest. If your portfolio is missing the samples and documents above, you are going to struggle getting a job. They're critical to entering this field. The Working with AI page is what more and more employers ask about, and it's what sets your portfolio apart.
Your portfolio should be housed on a basic website like Google Sites, Wix, or Weebly. Google Sites is free and the easiest to use. You don't have to design it like a web designer would, but it should look visually pleasing with readable text and cohesive colors.
You don't need one. A master's is a cherry on top: with two equal candidates, the one with the master's may get the job. A really good portfolio beats a master's nine out of ten times.
This is a common question, and the answer may surprise you. Some job descriptions say a Master's is required, but most either say it's preferred or don't mention it at all.
A Master's degree in ID is 90% theory and won't teach you practical application. There are very few programs where you'll learn eLearning authoring tools, and if you do, you'll likely learn Captivate because it's cheaper (but it's barely used in the field anymore). You also won't create a corporate-focused portfolio, won't get resume help, and won't be prepared for interviews. When you finish and start applying, companies are hesitant to hire you because you don't have practical skills and they don't want to train you on the job.
Many programs aren't even geared toward corporate ID. They focus on higher ed, which is a completely different type of ID.
Most employers know this. While they may say they prefer a Master's on a job description, most will take someone with a strong portfolio over a Master's degree with no portfolio behind it. Employers want proof that you can do the work and hit the ground running, which is only obtainable through creating a strong portfolio.
If two candidates have equal skills and equally strong portfolios, and one has a Master's, that will help you stand out. But a Master's without a vetted, corporate-focused portfolio won't get you a job.
If you choose to get your Master's, know that it doesn't end there. You will get your Master's AND have to continue learning and creating your portfolio to actually get hired.
Already have one? It wasn't wasted. Your degree covered the theory. What's usually missing is the tools, the corporate process and a portfolio that shows them, so that's what to build next.
There are three: teach yourself with free resources, take a university certificate program, or join a practical certification program that walks you through the skills, the tools and a portfolio. A certificate covers theory, so you'll still need one of the other two for the practical side.
You can learn everything yourself through free resources online. This is doable but involves a lot of googling and trying to piece things together, which takes a lot longer. You'll also need to find IDs and people in the L&D field to give you feedback on your portfolio samples. Most times, the first versions of the samples you create are not the ones that should go in your portfolio. They take multiple rounds of revision and often 30-40 hours to become portfolio-ready. If you go the DIY route, LinkedIn Learning is a good place to start.
Another option is a certificate program through a university, usually 4 classes. It's less time and money than a Master's, but like a Master's, it's all theory and won't teach you practical application. You'll be doing this option AND either #1 or #3.
You can enroll in a practical certification or credential program that is not through a university. These are similar to coding bootcamps where you spend a concentrated period of time learning new skills to transition into a new field. Some walk you through everything, from learning the skills and tools to building a portfolio to revamping your resume and LinkedIn to preparing for interviews. Others take a hybrid approach and tackle certain components for a shorter period. You can find the program that works best for your situation, but a practical education in Instructional Design is going to move you forward much faster than a Master's degree.
AIDA (Applied Instructional Design Academy) is built on the Applied ID Portfolio Method and takes you through all five stages, with AI part of the training from the start. Its scaffolded approach helps you become an expert in a short period of time and build a portfolio that replaces experience. You iterate and create multiple drafts with lots of feedback until your samples are approved and would impress a hiring manager. Graduates earn the Applied Instructional Design Certification (AIDC). Check out case studies from people who have transitioned to ID through AIDA, as well as results from current and former students.
Jill Davidian is the founder of Learning Strategy & Design and creator of the Applied ID Portfolio Method. 20+ years in instructional design, including time as a hiring manager. 1,200+ AIDA graduates. More about Jill
Last updated: November 2026
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