Introduction
Instructional design and technology has risen to be among the most sought after careers in the modern world today. This is because of the significance of the field of technology in most businesses and areas of work. It has been established that a proper utilization of technology enables an economical use of resources for any organization. This has led to an upwards trend of demand for instructional design technologists and specialists in the world of computer technology. For the purpose of this report, I have decided to explore the various available jobs in the field of instructional design and technology (IDT). The main objective of selecting this topic is to give a comprehensive assessment of the job market for instructional technologists. Ultimately, this report is vital to all graduates in the mentioned field as they will have a chance to read and explore where their fate lies.
Where this topic if found in Module 3 lesson
In the module three readings, this topic begins at the second lesson entitled ‘Looking Ahead and the Profession.’ This lesson covers a variety of subtopics. They include jobs available in the IDT field, certification and the future of IDT profession in ten to thirty years’ time. The lesson discusses the various job opportunities that are a possibility to any professional in the IDT related field (Feather et al., 2011). As the world economy continues to expand every day, more and more opportunities are created. Specifically, technology has created the most of the modern careers for youths in every corner of the world. This is made possible by the way organizations have shifted in their daily operations and routines. Firms and organizations have adopted technology to enhance efficiency in their routine activities. This adoption requires specialists in the area of technology to install and run the technological equipments. It is not every person that can do that since the area needs a high level knowledge and expertise (Lawrence, 2010).
The importance of IDT profession
My rational for choosing to expand of this field and profession of IDT is to give people a second thought in their career choice. This is because I have observed that people are highly attracted to already full professions such as administrative positions among others. It is evident that such individuals may have not realized that the field of IDT is a well decorated profession. In fact, a higher profession compared to those that people dream and scramble to achieve. People and especially youths have the trend to follow the wishes and career paths of their parents and mentors. They fail to realize that the world has evolved to provide new opportunities that were never present before. A good example is the area of technology that continues to evolve and provide new exciting opportunities to the new generation.
A career with fun
Career choice is the most critical part that exposes youth to either fail or prosper in their future endeavors. Now, instead of people fight for the scarce, filled and congested career paths, IDT provides an alternative worth talking about (Love, 2012). There are ample working fields for an IDT professional. They include instructional technologists’ positions in the higher education organizations, performance consultants in business enterprises, multimedia developers and technology specialists, coordinators among many others. Apart part from working in a favorable job environment for the above listed posts, a person enjoys a variety of benefits. For example, an instructional technologist determines the fate of the efficient running of the organization. This also implies to a multimedia developer and a consultant in any firm. This is because the people bear specific knowledge that is limited to others. They have a chance to work and impact knowledge to others not only at their respective departments but also across the all available organizations’ departments.
Lesson learnt
Flexibility of the IDT profession
I have also learned that the Instructional Design and Technology profession incorporates all conditions entitled under any other profession (Lawrence, 2010). Furthermore, this field is very flexible. Unlike other odd professions that demands for a fully concentration in one particular area of work, IDT is an exception. It is fun working as an IDT specialist. This is because people cross work and give directions to various technology concerns in any department. They also remain updated to any technology advancement brought about by the ever-changing world of technology. There is nothing a person could ask more than having a great advantage over other people in the field of technology. Therefore, instructional Design and Technology is the future of the modern global village.
Principles in the IDT field
In my research, I have also learned some interesting principles related in the field of IDT. Innovation, determination and flexibility are the core pillars that define the professionalism of IDT field. About innovation, a technology specialist should be familiar to every form of technology. The individual has the advantage to be informed of any new adjacent. Therefore, the environment under which a technologist works automatically updates them to the innovative world. Under determination, a technologist is always determined to perform. The competitiveness of the IDT field requires an extra effort to come up with unique products that will please the world. This determination is fun compared to other boring working office professions. And as mentioned above, flexibility is guiding principle for instructional design and technology specialists.
Issues with the IDT profession
Despite the relevance of the IDT profession in the global market, there are some emerging issues to be addressed (Love, 2012). These include the certification of this profession and the future of technology based professions. Unlike other professions such as accountancy, IDT field is not well organized to have a threshold in the market. This is due to various reasons. First, there are disagreements on the level of competence for one to be regarded as complete IDT professional. This gives a major doubt of whether the few hired IDT specialists are up to the level expected by the requirements of their tasks. Another problem is the tendency to evaluate an IDT specialist based on their on-job performance instead of qualification and certification. This is as a result of the different competencies expressed by different individuals in the IDT field.
Fear of IDT collapse
Another concern is the future of the IDT field. As the world of technology continues to advance, many efficient machines will take over the tasks done by instructional specialists. Therefore, services will no longer be needed, and the profession will collapse. Unless proper measures are put to address these issues, the profession will become less attractive in the near future (Feather et al., 2011).
References
Feather, J. L., & Aznar, M. F. (2011). Nanoscience education, workforce training, and K-12 resources. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Lawrence, H. (2010). An investigation of alumni perceptions of the Industrial Technology undergraduate program at Mississippi State University and its transferability to industry. Mississippi State: Mississippi State University.
Love, P. E. (2012). Find an IT job: Information technology careers from bioinformatics to web design. United States: ioxbooks.
