From English to Curriculum design

[MaddieKay]

Hi everyone,

I am hoping someone will be able to advise me on this dilemma I am in. I have a BA and MA in English literature. Currently, I am an adjunct lecturer at a community college and I really do love teaching. However, I have been beginning to think if I should change my field to instructional design and if that will actually be worth it. The reason I say this is because I recently worked on a project creating online tutoring material and I enjoyed it. My questions/concerns are:

              1. Is it pointless to get a ph.d in a subject matter that is totally unrelated to your former study?

              2. Does anyone know about the job market in the field of instructional design and whether someone in my situation would have a difficult time finding a job?

              3. how difficult are the programs to get into?

I know all of these questions I can research and find the answers to online, and I have done that, but I was wondering if anyone on this site has experienced something similar or can advise or inform me on the matter directly. Any feedback about this would be helpful and appreciated. Have a nice day.

Edited December 31, 2016 by MaddieKay

[rising_star]

1) I wouldn't say it's pointless but I would pay attention to what you could do with the degree.

2) No, but I think you may want to look at instructional design jobs on Higheredjobs to get a sense of what the qualifications, software knowledge, and experience they're looking for are. I have a friend in this field and get the sense that a PhD isn't required to get jobs because what you really need is the experience but YMMV.

You strike me as someone that would benefit from doing informational interviews with several folks currently working in this field.

[MaddieKay]

22 hours ago, rising_star said:

1) I wouldn't say it's pointless but I would pay attention to what you could do with the degree.

2) No, but I think you may want to look at instructional design jobs on Higheredjobs to get a sense of what the qualifications, software knowledge, and experience they're looking for are. I have a friend in this field and get the sense that a PhD isn't required to get jobs because what you really need is the experience but YMMV.

You strike me as someone that would benefit from doing informational interviews with several folks currently working in this field.

Thank you for your feedback. I'm actually planning on asking for interviews. Wish me luck ?