If one were serious about Instructional Design, how would one become a designer? Knowledge of and having good qualities for ID is a good start, but for something to truly become great, the task at hand needs to encompass what makes you you. In a less corny way, you need to find your personality to give substance to your work.
By cultivating your personality, you will narrow on the topics and discipline that you enjoy or are really good at. Having a niche leads to seeing it in different areas, and allows to apply and immerse yourself in it, which will help when looking for a job. Even my own experience, Instructional Design is not a keyword to look for a job. Many companies will have different names, but it usually comes back to the idea of ID: Training Developer, eLearning Developer, Program Manager, Training Manager, etc. Being aware of different naming variations will keep your eyes on all open opportunities. Sometimes even the naming variation will lead you right to your niche of expertise (Ex. eLearning is usually synonymous with the education field, but it could also be for online certification training for companies). [Source: https://www.learndash.com/why-instructional-designers-fail-to-find-jobs-and-how-to-fix-it-part-1/]
But how would one develop their personalty while continually becoming more involved in ID? Both can work in tandem, and many in past have done so in the past! In the source provided at the bottom of this paragraph, there is a web article from many people how to they became designers. I’ll leave the specifics for you to read, but the general idea of all tips is that become observant of the developing industry, learning by doing and trying, invest in understanding how people learn, and continue to develop your communication skills. [https://elearningindustry.com/become-an-instructional-designer-24-top-instructional-design-career-tips]
LIS 4022 Spring 2020 