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Instructional Designers and Technologists

Develop instructional materials and products and assist in the technology-based redesign of courses. Assist faculty in learning about, becoming proficient in, and applying instructional technology.

U.S. Workers

210,850

Median Salary

$74,720

10-Year Growth

+1.3%

Annual Openings

21,900

Typical entry: Master's degree

Minimal RiskImminent Risk79%HIGH

23 of 23 tasks have some AI capability

Exposure Trend

Mar79.25%Apr79.25%May79.25%Jun79.25%

This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.

Fully Automatable (13)

AI could handle these end-to-end

Present and make recommendations regarding course design, technology, and instruction delivery options.

AI: Fully automatable - AI can synthesize evidence, produce presentations, and generate tailored recommendations on course design, technologies, and delivery options at a professional level.

imp: 4.7

Define instructional, learning, or performance objectives.

AI: Fully automatable - AI can define clear, measurable instructional and performance objectives from standards, job analyses, and learning outcomes reliably and quickly.

imp: 4.7

Develop instructional materials and products for technology-based redesign of courses.

AI: Fully automatable - AI can develop instructional materials and digital products for course redesign, including multimedia content, assessments, and interactive assets, often producing ready‑to‑use artifacts.

imp: 4.5

Design learning products, including web-based aids or electronic performance support systems.

AI: Fully automatable - AI can design learning products such as web aids and electronic performance support systems by producing information architecture, content, interaction flows, and prototype code or specs.

imp: 4.4

Provide analytical support for the design and development of training curricula, learning strategies, educational policies, or courseware standards.

AI: Fully automatable - AI excels at providing analytical support—data analysis, research synthesis, modeling, and standards recommendations—for curricula, learning strategies, and courseware development.

imp: 4.4

Design instructional aids for stand-alone or instructor-led classroom or online use.

AI: Fully automatable - AI can produce high-quality slide decks, visuals, interactive modules and facilitator guides for classroom or online use end-to-end given inputs and constraints.

imp: 4.3

Develop instructional materials, such as lesson plans, handouts, or examinations.

AI: Fully automatable - AI can generate complete lesson plans, handouts, quizzes and exam items tailored to objectives and standards with minimal human input for many use cases.

imp: 4.0

Develop instruction or training roadmaps for online and blended learning programs.

AI: Fully automatable - AI can design detailed online and blended learning roadmaps (sequencing, modalities, milestones) from goals, constraints, and learner data.

imp: 4.0

Analyze performance data to determine effectiveness of instructional systems, courses, or instructional materials.

AI: Fully automatable - AI systems can analyze performance and learning-data at scale, identify patterns, and produce evidence-based conclusions about effectiveness with high reliability when data are available.

imp: 3.9

Adapt instructional content or delivery methods for different levels or types of learners.

AI: Fully automatable - AI can adapt content, scaffolding, pacing and modality to different learner levels and profiles automatically using personalization algorithms and content-generation capabilities.

imp: 3.9

Recommend instructional methods, such as individual or group instruction, self-study, lectures, demonstrations, simulation exercises, and role-playing, appropriate for content and learner characteristics.

AI: Fully automatable - By 2025 large language models and instructional design tools can analyze content and learner profiles to generate appropriate instructional method recommendations that are routinely useful, though human oversight may refine context-specific nuances.

imp: 3.9

Edit instructional materials, such as books, simulation exercises, lesson plans, instructor guides, and tests.

AI: Fully automatable - AI editing tools and models are capable of revising and polishing books, lesson plans, simulations, and tests for clarity, structure, and grammar, and can perform substantive edits with domain prompts.

imp: 3.9

Provide technical advice on the use of current instructional technologies, including computer-based training, desktop videoconferencing, multimedia, and distance learning technologies.

AI: Fully automatable - AI systems can provide up‑to‑date technical advice, configuration steps, and troubleshooting for common instructional technologies and distance‑learning tools and are widely used for this purpose.

imp: 3.5

Human in the Loop (10)

AI could assist, human oversight required

Interview subject matter experts or conduct other research to develop instructional content.

AI: Partial - AI can generate interview guides, synthesize existing research and transcribe/summarize SME interviews, but cannot reliably conduct nuanced live SME interviews or replace stakeholder rapport and judgment.

imp: 4.4

Conduct needs assessments and strategic learning assessments to develop the basis for curriculum development or to update curricula.

AI: Partial - AI can analyze data, stakeholder inputs, and produce needs-assessment reports, but strategic interpretation and stakeholder engagement required for final curriculum decisions remain human-led.

imp: 4.3

Assess effectiveness and efficiency of instruction according to ease of instructional technology use and student learning, knowledge transfer, and satisfaction.

AI: Partial - AI can process learning analytics, surveys, and usability metrics to evaluate effectiveness, but comprehensive judgments about transfer, contextual factors, and action planning need human interpretation and validation.

imp: 4.2

Develop measurement tools to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction or training interventions.

AI: Partial - AI can draft surveys, rubrics and assessment items and run initial analyses, but creating fully validated measurement instruments with appropriate psychometric properties requires human expertise and piloting.

imp: 4.0

Research and evaluate emerging instructional technologies or methods.

AI: Partial - AI can rapidly survey literature, synthesize vendor claims and summarize emerging methods, but real-world evaluation and hands-on testing of new technologies still require human-led trials and contextual judgment.

imp: 3.9

Teach instructors to use instructional technology or to integrate technology with teaching.

AI: Partial - AI can deliver tutorials, simulated coaching, and step‑by‑step guidance for instructional technologies, but fully teaching instructors—including hands‑on, adaptive interpersonal coaching—still benefits from human facilitators.

imp: 3.8

Recommend changes to curricula or delivery methods, based on information such as instructional effectiveness data, current or future performance requirements, feasibility, and costs.

AI: Partial - AI can analyze effectiveness data and constraints to propose curricular or delivery changes, but comprehensive recommendations require stakeholder judgment, feasibility validation, and policy considerations that limit full automation.

imp: 3.8

Observe and provide feedback on instructional techniques, presentation methods, or instructional aids.

AI: Partial - AI can observe recorded instruction and give detailed feedback on pacing, clarity, and some techniques, but nuanced, real‑time pedagogical coaching and affective judgments remain partially automated.

imp: 3.4

Develop master course documentation or manuals according to applicable accreditation, certification, or other requirements.

AI: Partial - AI can generate master course documentation and draft manuals aligned to stated accreditation criteria, but ensuring full compliance and final signoff requires expert human review and institutional knowledge.

imp: 3.3

Provide technical support to clients in the implementation of designed instruction or in task analyses and instructional systems design.

AI: Partial - AI can provide extensive technical guidance, diagnostic troubleshooting, and scripted support for implementation and task analysis, yet hands‑on system integration and client coordination still need human practitioners.

imp: 3.3

Skills for this role (35)

Reading ComprehensionEssentialInstructingEssentialLearning StrategiesEssentialWritingEssentialCritical ThinkingCoreActive ListeningCoreJudgment and Decision MakingCoreMonitoringCoreSpeakingCoreComplex Problem SolvingCore
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