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Instructional Technology Major

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Instructional Technology

107 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
6,799 Master's Degrees Annually
#40 in Popularity
$52,270 Median Salary

Types of Degrees Instructional Technology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many educational/instructional technology graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 6,799
Graduate Certificate 1,383
Doctor’s Degree 205
Bachelor’s Degree 107
Basic Certificate 84
Associate Degree 77
Undergraduate Certificate 40

What Instructional Technology Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to educational/instructional technology and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Educational/Instructional Technology Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in educational/instructional technology should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

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  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Skills for Educational/Instructional Technology Majors

When studying educational/instructional technology, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Educational/Instructional Technology Majors

Educational/Instructional Technology majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

What Can You Do With a Instructional Technology Major?

People with a educational/instructional technology degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Audio-Visual and Multimedia Collections Specialists 8.8% $49,600
Instructional Coordinators 10.5% $64,450
Instructional Designers and Technologists 10.5% $64,450

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Instructional Technology?

107 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
52% Percent Women
46% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
Roughly 52% of the graduates are women, and 48% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of educational/instructional technology majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 3
Black or African American 30
Hispanic or Latino 14
White 49
International Students 3
Other Races/Ethnicities 8

Geographic Diversity

Educational/Instructional Technology appeals to people across the globe. About 2.8% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Instructional Technology Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Educational/Instructional Technology majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $52,270 to $67,490 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for an Instructional Technology Major  ( 52270 to 67490 )
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Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some careers associated with educational/instructional technology require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to educational/instructional technology have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 1.4%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 4.9%
Some College Courses 4.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 0.5%
Bachelor’s Degree 28.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 1.5%
Master’s Degree 47.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 4.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 1.7%
Doctoral Degree 4.9%

Online Instructional Technology Programs

In 2020-2021, 355 schools offered a educational/instructional technology program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 3 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 5 0
Bachelor’s Degree 147 82
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 268 145
Post-Master’s 40 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 38 11
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 1 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

Is a Degree in Instructional Technology Worth It?

The median salary for a educational/instructional technology grad is $52,270 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 31% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $247,400 after 20 years!

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References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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