For corporate jobs, it's a strong foundation. Your portfolio shows what you can do with it.
Do you need a master's to become an instructional designer?
Quick answer: For corporate ID, no.
Andi Stanfield
Master's: Secondary education and instructional technology
Before AIDA: Applying for ID jobs with her master's
Now: Training Officer II, State of Arizona
Caroline Hain
Master’s: Learning and technology
Before AIDA: Earned her master’s, applied, and still wasn’t getting interviews
Now: Senior Instructional Designer, Dashe & Thomson
New to instructional design? Start with the Ultimate Guide.
You did what the advice said. You earned the master's or the graduate certificate, maybe while working full time. Then you read real job postings and saw Storyline, Rise and a portfolio link in the requirements. Maybe you've sent out the portfolio from your capstone and heard nothing, or the degree has sat unused while you keep doing the job you wanted to leave.
Most master's programs focus on theory and point you toward higher ed, where the degree is valued. Corporate isn't their focus: how companies create training, the processes they follow, the design documents, the storyboards and the tools. Corporate employers value real work over the degree, and corporate pays a lot better. A really good portfolio beats a master's nine out of ten times.
Jill has one too: an M.S. in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University. She's also been the hiring manager reading the portfolios.
Plenty of Applied Instructional Design Academy (AIDA) grads came in with a master's already. Here's how three of them put it.
So I started my master’s program. I worked on that, but then I realized I was not learning the things I needed to learn to be able to start a job the next day. I wasn’t getting that hands on part that I wanted. My master’s was great. I finished the program. I understand theories and project management and all those things, but I went back and found AIDA, and that’s where I got my hands on […] the best practices that people were using in the industry and not just those theories.
As I read through job description after job description, I realized I had amazing book knowledge from my master’s degree. I knew adult learning theory. […] I was ready to do a needs analysis. I was ready to do a storyboard. […] But I realized I was missing things. I realized I didn’t have a portfolio for transitioning into corporate. I didn’t know how to build courses and use Articulate.
I was looking for work as an instructional designer for 2 years after receiving my master’s. The portfolio assistance I received here made all the difference. Almost immediately I was getting offers and it wasn’t even complete yet!
Get your current portfolio, or the coursework you've been sending, in front of someone who's hired IDs. You'll know what's working and what's missing before the next application.
Look at the tools they used and how each sample is set up for a business audience, then compare your own work.
Learn Storyline, Rise and AI step by step, and get every sample reviewed until it's approved. You bring your theory with you. The free workshop, Become an AI-Ready Instructional Designer, Nov 9 to 12, shows you every piece a corporate ID portfolio needs.
Answer one question first: do you want to work in corporate or in higher ed?
If it's higher ed, a master's can make a real difference. You often work with faculty to build university courses, and higher ed values education over practical experience.
If it's corporate, it counts for less, because corporate doesn't value the degree the same way higher ed does. Hiring managers want to see what you can do on the job on day one, and your portfolio is how they check.
Want more on this? Listen to Should I Get a Master's Degree in Instructional Design? on the podcast.
I looked at doing a master’s, and I just thought, “I don’t know if I have it in me to do a master’s,” because I was working so full time. And now I look back and I’m like, “Thank God I didn’t try to do a master’s,” because I don’t need it.
I did not get a master’s degree in instructional design. I know many people that went into instructional design without a master’s degree. And the thing with a master’s degree is they’re going to teach you information about the theories behind everything. You’re not going to get the hands on skills development like you do through the Applied Instructional Design Academy. They’re not going to have you create a portfolio. You’re not going to learn the different kinds of softwares.
I had narrowed my search down to 2 Master’s programs, and was planning to enroll even though I wasn’t sure where the tuition money would come from. […] The idea of becoming an ID went from being a “someday goal” to a “I could do this within 9 months!” goal. It changed EVERYTHING for me.
Just to compare a program like AIDA to a master's, here's how the two stack up. It's one route among several.
Some grads do both. Elyse finished her ID master's first, then came to AIDA for the tools, the samples and the job search. Looking back, she said, “I would save the money on a master's degree and just go with the Academy.”
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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