As a teacher or former teacher, you may think making the career transition from school to the corporate world is practically impossible. But we’re here to tell you – students are everywhere! Corporations are looking for professionals with educational backgrounds to master the art of corporate instructional design to facilitate training and education within their companies.

The shift to remote work increased the need for quality corporate instructional designers as businesses transitioned their in-person training events into eLearning modules. More than ever, a need for engaging learning materials that can be accessed anywhere at any time with stronger retention for more self-directed students emerged. The world suddenly needed more teachers out of the classroom!

If you’re looking for a way to capitalize on this increase in demand, you’re in the right place. Go from a career in K-12 to corporate without missing a beat with these tips for navigating a career transition from teacher to instructional designer.

Corporate Instructional Design - What to Expect

A corporate instructional designer is a crucial member of corporate HR teams. They’re responsible for training, education, and employee development. Most notably, instructional designers manage corporate training programs for new employees and continuing education opportunities for existing employees.

The day-to-day responsibilities of a corporate instructional designer don’t vary much from a general instructional designer. Tasks of instructional designers include:

• Develop effective curriculum and learning plans
• Write compelling content and learning objectives
• Design media-rich instructional materials
• Evaluate student performance

Though the tasks don’t differ, the environment does. Corporate instructional designers work for businesses and corporations. Transitioning from a teacher to an instructional designer, you’ll find that the corporate audience differs from students, especially young ones.

While teachers work with students, typically adolescents, corporate instructional designers work with fellow adults. And adults learn differently than children. After a career transition into the corporate world, you’d expect to utilize new learning techniques, such as VR or self-directed learning, motivated by real-life experiences. 

Leverage Your Experience as a Teacher to Instructional Designer

To transition from teacher to instructional designer, you’ll need to leverage your existing skills and experience – and it’s easy to see the connection between the two roles! 

Both teachers and instructional designers develop the following skills.

• Curriculum design
• Knowledge of learning techniques and concepts
• Communication skills
• Ability to work with others
• Management skills (of people and tasks)
• Ability to work in fast-paced environments
• Leadership skills

To leave your job as a teacher and join the corporate instructional design profession, you must recognize the skills you already have at the start of your career transition. The base of your new career exists inside you already!

Making the Career Transition to Corporate Instructional Design

If you feel confident in your ability to make the career transition and are excited to get started, keep the ball rolling by laying the groundwork for your new profession.

Start by updating your resume and creating a portfolio. Here is where you’ll express your candidacy for your next instructional design job by showcasing your work as a teacher or experience as an instructional designer. For teachers, include your work building curriculum and bringing learning experiences to life. Boost your portfolio with your design work and results from how your students have improved in their classes.

Next, you’ll want to tap into your network. As you leave the classroom, you can join professional organizations, become more involved on LinkedIn, and talk to your friends and family who have connections to corporations looking for instructional designers like you. You can listen to our Leaving the Classroom podcast for even more real-world tips from a former teacher!

If you need to build your confidence and portfolio, consider enrolling in our IDOL On Demand Bootcamp. We’ll provide you with the training, technology, and resources to earn credentials (and land a new job) as a corporate instructional designer. 

Enrollment includes templates: on-demand training, virtual study halls, an extensive library of tools, expert guidance and mentorship, practice opportunities, and a complete career-building curriculum. In six months, you’ll be on your way to a career transition from K-12 educator to corporate instructional designer.