Have you watched, read or heard about a new book "The Accidental Instructional Designer: Learning Design for the Digital Age"? Written by
Cammy Bean the
book talks about getting started in eLearning. I was moved by the title and relevance of the story so I figured I would share my
Accidental Instructional Designer story with you....
In 2006 I gave up on my lifelong dream of teaching. In
between the crappy economy, an unplanned pregnancy and general dissatisfaction
in the University and their program provided
I choose to stop going. I found myself with a useless Associate degree, a
beautiful child and feeling like I was trapped in a never ending tunnel of
employment and schooling options. I went back and forth from being a stay at
home mom and working jobs that I found unsatisfying.
After three years, a job assignment ending and with another
baby on the way, I decided that if I was going to back to college now was the
time. I started a Business Administration Associates degree after loving an
accounting position I took through a temporary employment agency. I used many of the credits I had previously received
to complete nine courses in two semesters. I had to sign a waiver that said I
was limited in time, money and the courses I could take. The whole time wondering if I made the right
decision. I struggled with the idea of going back reminding myself how it felt
to leave education behind. I would have to remind myself every so often that Business
Administration is stable, there are so many avenues to choose and the success latter
is pretty straight forward. I was almost done when I found out that my
financial aid ran out and I was forced to walk away with only one course
remaining.
After having my second child, I took a part time job as a receptionist
at an Educational Center. During this time, I worked closely with HR to get
teachers and therapists ready for the school year, maintaining safety for
children and staff, creating documentation on processes and policies and setting
up professional development opportunities. It was at that moment when I
realized that Education and Business could intersect. That I could combine Education, which I loved
the most, with Business, the one that I felt stable.
I started seeking employment hoping to go from part time to
full time when I came across a job opening from a local college. The title was listed as a Content Assembler
and I was stumped. I tried googling the
title and looking up information on what that meant or how it worked but came
up with nothing. The posting was cryptic
and had foreign words to me like course authoring, Lecotra and SCORM. Something
on the page was screaming at me. Something felt right. I decided that this is
where I needed to go next and submitted my resume hoping that I wasn’t packing
boxing or stapling papers all day long.
After clarifying the tasks in the interviews, I was ecstatic.
This is what I was looking for! The
position ended up being an eLearning developer contract position for a Fortune
50 company. I learned course development software, techniques and theories,
graphic design and honed my professional skills. I dove in deep learning anything
and everything I could: self-teaching myself to teach others. I soon branched into the concept of
translating material volunteering for a new service to be provided. I learned
process life cycle and the importance of documentation while building
relationships with other employees. Finally, through hard work and dedication I
rose to a half time Instructional Designer position that opened up the
opportunity for me to work with SMEs, review courses and implement
Instructional Design best practices and theories into every day development and
process.
I knew that I wanted to continue my skills and unfortunately,
the position did not offer any more advancement or professional development
opportunities. So I began looking locally.
After a conversation with my sister about her considering moving to Denver,
I turned to my husband and asked why we couldn’t move out of state. The pros outweighed the cons and we decided
to open up the search to include the whole United States. I started researching
companies and softwares and reading reviews and doing geographical research and
checking into school districts and creating spreadsheets, and overall becoming
way to over whelmed with finding a company and location we liked.
Finally, I
started submitted resumes over the course of months until one day I received an email.
I’ll never forget what it said….”You do realize this job is in South
Dakota, right?”. “Yes”, I replied eagerly.
“I’m looking to relocate and came across your company.” We set up an over
the phone interview and then an in person before I finally got the call. “We’d like to offer you an Instructional Designer
position. Let me know if you’re interested.” My hard work had paid off. Within a month, we moved 900 miles. The company I’m at encourages my growth,
offers a new business sector and a developing Learning team.
By accidentally stumbling into ID I have opened up opportunities,
the globe and most importantly my confidence. I feel committed and ready; as if I finally have a professional purpose.
Now I just need to talk myself into getting a Bachelor’s degree…..
How did you get here? Do you have an Associates, Bachelors or Masters Degree? Are you an accidental ID?
