what I wish I knew when transitioning from teaching to instructional design

[@SamTaylorEd]

Hey everyone! Want to land your first ID job? Check out my latest book: "Teacher to Instructional Designer" amzn.to/3W9SwfY

[@SophieCheung]

Instructional designers are sooo important ❤️

[@SamTaylorEd]

Agreeeed! Let’s catch up again soon!!

[@SophieCheung]

@@SamTaylorEd yes please!! there's actually something i'm working on i'd LOVE to show you :))

[@byeteaching]

Nice...Fantastic content! I appreciate how you've provided concrete examples of mistakes and offered practical solutions.

[@SamTaylorEd]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@victorrivas2350]

Loved the video! I'm in the process of trying to decide if this would be a viable career. I have 8 years of experience in middle and elementary school, am an Army veteran, and a bachelor's in degree that is similar to Social Work. I have no idea as to what the job market looks like, especially here in Texas.

[@SamTaylorEd]

Thanks so much for watching! And yes there's definitely lots to think about when making the switch from middle/elementary into Instructional Design. To start, I'd suggest checking out LinkedIn to see what the job market for Instructional Design jobs in Texas (or remote!) looks like. If you have questions, feel free to leave them below and I'll do my best to answer!

[@BrendaMichellleTech]

Great Video Sam! I loved number 2 because it is so true lol everything is always changing in Tech but it helps ensure we always have work 😉☺

[@SamTaylorEd]

Thanks Brenda!! I feel like this probably applies for all roles in tech tbh lol 🫠

[@LearnEnglishWithJess]

Super helpful! Thanks for sharing all of this.

[@SamTaylorEd]

So glad you found this helpful! Thank you for watching!!

[@nickrobinson9486]

Awesome video, Sam! I am working on transitioning from a higher ed and industry background. Your videos have been very helpful in the process of learning and working toward ID roles.

[@SamTaylorEd]

Thanks so much Nick! Good luck with everything and feel free to reach out with any questions!

[@nickrobinson9486]

@@SamTaylorEd For the portfolios, do you think it is essential to have portfolio projects that use tools like Articulate and/or Adobe Captivate?

[@SamTaylorEd]

@@nickrobinson9486 I don’t think it’s essential - you can definitely use other tools to create/simulate courses and/or videos! And then during the take home stage of the interview you can use maybe a free trial of articulate!

[@nickrobinson9486]

@@SamTaylorEd Awesome, thank you!

[@MrFernandoBedoya]

A an immigrant in Canada I have considered changing careers. I am good at teaching, however I cannot teach here unless I get a Bac in pedagogy or teaching. I heard about ID one year go and thought that maybe this is the better option today for those one who love teaching. I have been watching videos on ID for some months, but this especially mention a fact: ID is no for teaching in person, or at least most of the instructions are delivered online. This is one downside of ID since I do need to talk to people in person. One of my friends who has been a teacher for 20 years told me during the pandemic that, teaching online was really difficult and it was completely different...and I felt him, I know him and I know he need to be in a classroom. Thanks to @SamTaylorEd for sharing your video, your point of view and thoughts.

[@SamTaylorEd]

Yes, most of the instruction as an ID is online. Glad the information helped you, and thanks for watching!

[@jessoliveri516]

Hi Sam! I’m so glad I came across your channel. I’m currently a teacher overseas but have given a lot of thought about other options beyond teaching in the future (lord knows there’s only so long before the burnout sets in!). I’ve watched a few of your videos and you mentioned that you taught yourself coding and other needed skills for ID. I’m wondering whether or not you have any other certifications/degrees related to tech. I’ve been debating on getting a Master’s in EdTech, but don’t want to spend the time/money if it might not be necessary. Thanks! I’ll look forward to more videos in the future ☺️

[@SamTaylorEd]

Hi! Thanks so much for watching! I don’t have any specific tech certifications but I did get a masters in k-12 curriculum development while I was teaching. Most of the IDs I’ve worked with in the past don’t have a masters degree in EdTech, but certs in instructional design can be helpful (especially for those who don’t have any teaching experience). But since you do have teaching experience I’d suggest starting to create some sample projects that demonstrate your adult learning course building skills (mini courses with videos, diagrams, slide decks, etc)!

[@JBrynnJ]

Thank you! I often wonder how frequent the work is and being worried about being easily replaceable or expendable from not working.

[@SamTaylorEd]

The nice thing about working in tech is that things are ALWAYS changing so even if I'm not creating new stuff I'm busy updating existing content :D

[@barbaramiguelgorry6644]

Thanks for the video. When did you know it was time for you to stop teaching and start ID? I'm nearly finished with my PhD in ID and Tech, and I'm not ready to be done teaching yet, but I'm wondering when you knew you were ready...if it's not too personal.

[@SamTaylorEd]

That’s a great question! I think I knew I was ready to leave when I didn’t feel like going back into the classroom and would spend a lot of time thinking I wanted to try something new. Plus I transitioned while teaching (by getting a part time curriculum dev job) which I think helped ease my transition. Hope that’s useful! And congrats on finishing your PhD in ID!

[@sf.skill2088]

grate video, I do have a question, I am in close to get my bachelor degree of Liberal art, and I am thinking about the ID program in my master, so English is my second language, do you recommend this major to me? I live in california, how is the market here? thanks

[@SamTaylorEd]

Hello! Congrats on being close to finishing your degree! I've seen both ways of getting into Instructional Design: 1) getting a Master's Degree in ID/Curriculum Development, and 2) getting hands-on experience by creating projects and ID work via part-time/contract work. I would say if you're interested in learning more about the theory of Instructional Design and having professors assign you ID projects to work on (and help grade/improve them), then Master's degree might be a good option for you! I know a few people who have used some of the projects they've built in their Masters programs to apply to jobs. Hope this is helpful!

[@Saaede-nik]

Hi Sam, thank you for your useful videos. I’ve been an ESL teacher and I have a CELTA certificate during which I learned a few things about learning methods, learners analysis, task analysis and etc … I’d like to become an ID, so I’ve started learning storyline and attended an online course about ID ( ID foundations and applications) on Coursera, I live in Italy and there aren’t that much job offer for an ID and all of them ask 5 or more yrs of experience , I got disappointed and not sure if I should continue learning or not! I’d like to ask if you have any advice? Thank you

[@SamTaylorEd]

Hello! Thank you for checking out my videos! I think the course you're taking and the skills you're learning are all a great way to get your first ID job. Companies will *say* 5 years of experience, but they don't always mean that. One way to show experience (even if you haven't worked as an ID) is to create a portfolio that demonstrates some of your new skills! You can create the topics on your own, or ask the people around you if they need a course built. Then you can use that in your portfolio. As for jobs in Italy, consider virtual or remote jobs that will let you work from home! You got this!

[@Saaede-nik]

@@SamTaylorEd thank you ☺️

[@alexishubbard1107]

Thank you for this great video! I'm a teacher with 8 years of experience in the classroom looking at long-term career change options. I really want to be intentional about making any possible shifts. I'm wondering how flexible this career is? Does it work well for parents? I would assume it probably depends on the role and the company, but just curious what your opinion on that might be :)

[@SamTaylorEd]

Hi! Great question - I'm not sure what type of flexibility you're looking for but I have a few thoughts: 1) many ID roles have the flexibility to be remote, meaning you can work from home or go into the office if it is close by, 2) in your day-to-day as an ID, you can have a fairly flexible schedule (depending on your team) and set different calendar blocks if you need to do something for/with family (though this is the case for many roles in tech nowadays), and, 3) I have quite a few current and former coworkers who were parents or became parents and seemed to enjoy the flexibility of being able to take time off or hop to their kids school quickly between meetings if needed. Hope that helps and thank you for watching! Oh, and if you're interested, I have another video about other types of tech jobs for career transitioners: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2SWfaevfdR8hqM

[@PARADOCS10X]

Do you have a masters degree or need one in ID ?

[@SamTaylorEd]

I do have a masters degree which I got when I was a teacher, but I don’t think it’s necessary to have one!