Reddit mentions of The Accidental Instructional Designer: Learning Design for the Digital Age

There are plenty of "accidental IDs" and self-taught IDs on here (myself included). I have since obtained a bunch of ID related certificates and dedicated myself to this field, but I started as a "guy who knew a bunch of computer stuff and graphic software". I would start out picking up the basics: books and videos followed up with doing example projects on my own. Books:

Accidental Instructional Designer https://www.amazon.ca/Accidental-Instructional-Designer-Learning-Digital/dp/1562869140

Design for how people learn: https://www.amazon.ca/Design-How-People-Learn-2nd/dp/0134211286/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_0/132-9279317-1969362?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0134211286&pd_rd_r=23175abb-8397-425a-a4e0-c2f8782513c2&pd_rd_w=z99C5&pd_rd_wg=dnaNm&pf_rd_p=9926bb69-42b9-46e4-b788-f665992e326d&pf_rd_r=JCRB7DERAEAJTZR152GW&psc=1&refRID=JCRB7DERAEAJTZR152GW

I have recently gone through a ton of interviews for various ID positions and I will share my experience with you.

Some companies are going to be focused on your process for developing courses and curriculum from beginning to end. Being familiar with adult learning theories, ADDIE, Kirkpatrick Model, ect. will help you get into an entry level role if you can competently demonstrate your grasp of those subjects. You will also be asked to speak to your experience working with SMEs, project planning, how you see yourself functioning within a team, and how you pursue individual projects.

Other places are going to be more concerned with the technology itself. How many authoring tools can you use? Do you know HTML/CSS/Javascript? Are you good with Photoshop? Illustrator? After Effects? What experience do you having working with Learning Management Systems? What is your approach to data and analytics? Do you have experience using SCORM or XAPI? Can you show examples of work you've created across multiple modalities? You may even be asked to complete a short design assignment where you are given some branding material and asked to storyboard or outright create an entire course.

My opinion is that since you already have a degree in Psychology and professional experience as an event manager, you could easily parlay that knowledge and skill set into the theory and conceptual aspects of ID. There are plenty of great books you can read to supplement your degree like this and this. If you feel like you are lacking in the technology department then definitely go get experience using all the tools you can get your hands on. Employers wants to see real examples of real work, so the faster you can start building things the better. Not just courses but all the other things associated with ID like storyboards, job aids, and lesson plans.

Again just my opinion, but I believe ID is a field open to many types of professionals. It's just a matter of filling in the gaps where you may need it. I have a degree in English/Professional Writing and started off my career doing tech support. There have been positions where I've had the title of "Instructional Designer" and barely had a single course up in the LMS that was mine because I was focused on script writing, video production, and managing assessments. Just to give you a personal example of the different paths you can take.

If you have any more questions I'd be more than happy to help out in any way I can. Good luck!!!

Fortunately, an additional degree isn't really necessary - and I say this as someone with a masters degree in education.

The fact is that many of us got into this line of work 'accidentally' - that is, we worked someplace doing something else, this...thing needed doing, and we took it on. And loved it.

I recommend reading Cammy Bean's The Accidental Instructional Designer for more on this phenomenon. (If you can't get the book, here's an interview she did in Learning Solutions Magazine.)

Instead of a degree, you could try to do one of, say, ASTD's certificate programs, if you feel that you need some objective legitimacy to get you in the door. But most ISDs I know were already doing something related to training within a company (often because there was no one else) and got good at it - especially those who design and develop elearning.

Hi Mike,

I took the E-learning Instructional Design certificate course at University of California Irvine, finished in September this year. Although some classes were better than others, overall I found it a really valuable experience. Even if you don't do the whole program, the very first course in the series will teach you so much that you'll need several months to mull it over and apply it all to your work. Each class costs $550-ish. so it's a $3000 program, but that's only if you choose to do all 6 classes and get the certificate.

I'm ready the Accidental Instructional Designer at the moment, by Cammy Bean. Best ID or e-learning book I've read, ever. Full of simple, smart, quality tips. Funny to read, too. Buy it! :)