Mid-Level

Instructional Manager

You train teachers to use educational technology. As an Instructional Technology Teacher, you're delivering professional development, creating resources, and helping educators leverage technology for better learning.

Career Level
Junior
Mid
Senior
Director
VP
Executive
Work Personality
S
E
C
I
A
R
Socialhelping, teaching
Enterprisingleading, persuading
Based on Holland Code framework
Job markets for Instructional Managers
Employment concentration · ~358 areas
Based on employment in related occupations
Mapped SOC categories:
BLS Occupational Employment Statistics
What it's like

What it's like to be a Instructional Manager

Instructional managers oversee the instructional or learning and development function within organizations—managing a team of instructional designers, trainers, or educators; overseeing program portfolios; and aligning instructional resources with organizational learning priorities.

The transition from design to management requires shifting from solving instructional problems yourself to enabling others to solve them well. That shift—from individual contributor to team leader—tends to require developing new instincts around coaching, feedback, and project oversight.

People who tend to do well have strong instructional foundations combined with genuine interest in team leadership and organizational management. If you can maintain enough technical currency to support your designers credibly while also managing upward, setting priorities, and building team capacity, instructional management tends to be a natural career progression for experienced IDs who want broader organizational influence and find developing others as satisfying as doing the design work themselves.

RelationshipsHigh
IndependenceHigh
AchievementAbove avg
Working ConditionsModerate
RecognitionModerate
SupportLower
O*NET Work Values survey
✦ Editorial — written by Truest from industry research and career patterns
Career Paths

Where this role sits in the broader career landscape — and where it can take you.

$239K$179K$119K$60K$0KLower paying387 metro areas, sorted by salary level
All experience levels1
This level's estimated range
INDUSTRIES PAYING ABOVE AVERAGE
1 BLS OEWS May 2024 covers all Instructional Managers (SOC 25-9031.00), not just this title · BEA RPP 2023
* Top salaries exceed this figure. BLS caps reported wages at ~$240K to protect individual privacy in high-earning roles.
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✦ Editorial — career progression and interview guidance based on industry patterns
The Broader Landscape

Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.

$47K–$115K
Salary Range
10th – 90th percentile
211K
U.S. Employment
+1.3%
10yr Growth
22K
Annual Openings

How this category is changing

$74K$72K$69K$67K$65K201920202021202220232024$65K$74K
BLS OEWS May 2024 · BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034

Skills & Requirements

Learning StrategiesInstructingWritingSpeakingMonitoringActive ListeningReading ComprehensionComplex Problem SolvingCritical ThinkingActive Learning
O*NET OnLine · Bureau of Labor Statistics
25-9031.00

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Federal data: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (May 2024) · BLS Employment Projections · O*NET OnLine
Truest editorial: Fit check, role profile, things that vary, advancement analysis, lateral moves, interview questions.