eLearning Career Paths To Think About
Online learning has become a powerful tool that elevates professionals and enriches their capabilities. As a result, many career paths have opened up for people passionate about crafting learning solutions. Instructional Design may be the most sought-after job title in the eLearning field, but multiple overlooked careers exist. They greatly vary based on responsibilities and required skillsets but have one common denominator: the primary goal is to provide meaningful learning opportunities. Depending on the size of a company, the job titles and their assigned tasks may differ. We will now share a few careers in eLearning and reveal what each role entails.
8 eLearning Job Titles To Consider
1. eLearning Developer
After the Instructional Designer carefully crafts a learning course's content, the developer steps in. They use the information provided to develop courses using eLearning authoring software. They work closely with graphic designers and programmers if they need to add visual elements to a course. The digital learning material may include modules, simulations, games, and interactive media. Developers are also responsible for testing and debugging the final product to ensure it works properly on different platforms.
2. Learning Technologist
In this eLearning career path, professionals are responsible for researching, evaluating, and recommending the best technology. Their role isn't limited to specific industries but extends to any company that wants to propel its workforce forward. Digital courses come in different forms, including virtual classrooms, video conferences, and games. A learning technologist must have impeccable technological training and a clear understanding of the educational aspects of online learning. Additionally, they must train and guide instructors and learners on how to use technological tools efficiently. To achieve that, their collaboration and communication skills should be highly developed.
3. eLearning Project Manager
This role is typically found in larger companies and entails managing learning courses from conception to completion. Project managers might play a smaller part in the development of the material but make sure it serves the primary educational goals. They must be in close contact with Instructional Designers, eLearning developers, and multimedia specialists to ensure a project is finalized on time and within the projected budget. They also communicate with the company's clients to convey the vision accurately to the rest of the team members. Furthermore, this eLearning career path requires outstanding communication skills and a general knowledge of authoring tools.
4. Learning Strategist
Strategists are constantly searching for trends and the latest techniques to assist learners in their digital training. They work closely with the Instructional Designer to improve the delivery of content while keeping clients satisfied. At the same time, they use educational and diagnostic statistics to understand each learner sufficiently. They offer guidance to each participant to ensure the learning material and teaching methodology are effective. If not, they will find alternative learning paths and techniques. Typically, it falls under their responsibilities to carefully craft the profile of each learner, help them set their goals, and lead them toward the most suitable learning option.
5. Content Writer And Proofreader
The eLearning content writing niche is getting exceedingly popular and is definitely a career path worth considering. A professional content writer should be familiar with the audience they are trying to reach and their level of expertise. They need to define the learning objectives of their content: what skills and talents should the reader acquire by the end of a course or reading material? Storytelling combined with illustrations might help explain complex ideas and offer a more relatable learning process. One can also choose to be an editor and proofreader. Instead of producing text, professionals in this area will review courses and ensure everything is explained precisely. They must fix grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and typos. Naturally, their content writing skills need to be flawless.
6. Learning Management System Coordinator
This is one of the most technical eLearning career paths since the LMS coordinator is responsible for installing, setting up, and configuring the online Learning Management System. Their responsibilities include creating user accounts, enrolling learners in courses, preparing the security controls, and customizing the system's appearance. They also provide support and guidance on how to use the system and troubleshoot any problems that arise. For someone to become a successful LMS coordinator, they need to be proficient in managing LMS platforms. Coding skills might also be required.
7. Quality Assurance Tester
Before learners are ready to access teaching material, bigger corporations may hire a Quality Assurance (QA) tester to review courses in depth. They go over the tasks numerous times and take all the different paths a learner might follow. Their goal is to verify that no technical issues or bugs will present themselves to participants. They must be attentive in case any glitches or other issues arise. If so, they should keep meticulous notes. As a result, they are aware of the technical problems that may occur and are prepared for them. Last but not least, QA testers do scalability evaluations to ensure the system can handle increased traffic.
8. Multimedia Designer
Multimedia designers are highly skilled people with knowledge in graphic design, video and audio production, and even web application development. Using various software, they create engaging and dynamic content. To achieve that, they also need to have a sufficient understanding of the learning topic and create interactive media to support it further. When multimedia is added to eLearning courses, the retention rate goes up.
Conclusion
eLearning offers a plethora of opportunities as the corporate world shifts towards online training. The process of conceiving a course and bringing it to fruition is complex, and many of the aforementioned roles come into play. If you'd like to learn more about eLearning careers in your niche, check out our online job board.