Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Curriculum and Instructional Designer or Developer designs and develops instructional materials and methods for teachers. Analyzes what is needed for students, identifies learning objectives, and designs the content and format of instructional material and delivery. Uses instructional design to create instructional materials, which may include text, electronic and visual material. Works for a school or college or for an education, software or publishing company.
Job Outlook
There were 1014 Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 30098 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer industry, which includes the Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $76,580.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $71,129.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $58,824.
Education and Experience
Posted Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 8.6% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 60.16% |
| Master's Degree | 30.95% |
| Doctoral Degree | 5.43% |
| Other | 9.24% |
Posted Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 31.51% |
| 3 to 5 years | 53.17% |
| 6 to 8 years | 9.97% |
| 9+ years | 5.35% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (46.37%)
- Writing (29.1%)
- Teaching (27.48%)
- Management (23.71%)
- Leadership (23.42%)
- Research (23.18%)
- Innovation (20.41%)
- Planning (17.64%)
- Problem Solving (17.18%)
- Microsoft Office (17.02%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Blended Learning (11.81%)
- Project Management (34.53%)
- Instructional Design (70.86%)
- Learning Management Systems (41.01%)
- Articulate Storyline (13.57%)
- Educational Technologies (27.08%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Curriculum Development (31.65%)
- Adult Learning Principles (12.31%)
- Pedagogy (11.51%)
- Higher Education (5.88%)
- Storyboarding (12.83%)
- Adult Education (32.11%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Course Development (9.56%)
- Shareable Content Object Reference Model (6.95%)
- Camtasia Studio (13.76%)
- Educational Software (5.18%)
- ADDIE Instructional Design Model (11.28%)
- Online Course Development (4.86%)
- E-Learning Development (9.71%)
- Vyond (Video Software) (3.31%)
- Learning Design (8.99%)
- Instructor-Led Training (6.97%)
- Articulate 360 (8.99%)
- Adobe Captivate (9.25%)
- Learning Experience Design (5.66%)
- Learning Theory (8.26%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- ADDIE Instructional Design Model (15.18%)
- Learning Experience Design (7.62%)
- Adobe Captivate (12.45%)
- Instructional Design (95.39%)
- Shareable Content Object Reference Model (9.35%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Instructional Designer
- Learning Specialist
- Instructional Systems Designer
- Learning Experience Designer
- Curriculum Developer
- Instructional Design Manager
- Instructional Design Specialist
- Learning Designer
- Curriculum Designer
- Education Consultant
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Training and Development Specialist
- Curriculum Specialist
- Training and Development Manager
- Corporate Trainer
- Technical Trainer
- Training Consultant
- Elementary and Secondary School Administrator (General)
- Adult Basic Education / Literacy Instructor
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Curriculum and Instructional Designer / Developer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Pearson Education (357)
- Bausch & Lomb (281)
- Clark County School District (237)
- Public Consulting Group (208)
- Elevance Health (207)
- Merck (187)
- Leidos (176)
- Waste Management (171)
- Guidehouse (161)
- University of California (133)
North Carolina
- University of North Carolina (53)
- Ixl Learning (27)
- North Carolina State University (23)
- Wake County Public Schools (18)
- Spectrum (16)
- State of North Carolina (15)
- Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (12)
- Innosoul (11)
- Cabarrus County Schools (11)
- Pearson Education (10)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Biology for Educators Graduate Certificates
- Curriculum and Instruction: New Literacies and Global Learning Master's Degrees
- Elementary Education Master's Degrees
- Elementary Education Master's Degrees
- English – Secondary Education Master's Degrees
- English as a Second Language (ESL) Master's Degrees
- English as a Second Language Add-on Teacher Licensure
- Language Arts – Middle Grades Master's Degrees
- Learning Analytics Graduate Certificates
- Learning Design and Technology Master's Degrees
- Learning STEM in Informal Contexts Graduate Certificates
- Master of Arts in Teaching: Mathematics Education Master's Degrees
- Mathematics Teaching and Learning Graduate Certificates
- NC Teach@NC State Teacher Licensure
- Science – Secondary Education Master's Degrees
- Social Studies – Middle Grades Master's Degrees
- Social Studies – Secondary Education Master's Degrees
- Special Education Master's Degrees
- Special Education for Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) Graduate Certificates
- Training and Development Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.