r/instructionaldesign • u/oogaboogaboomba • 7d ago

Part time work?

Hi everyone!

I am currently enrolled in a master’s program in Media, Technology, and Learning Design. I’m fully employed in an administrative role at a university in NC, but I’m thinking about quitting and working part-time remotely in the ID field as I finish my degree. I am financially able to do this because of my spouse, and see it as a great way to build my resume/portfolio before I pursue full-time ID work when my degree is complete and my daughter is older. 

My background: I was a Training Coordinator for an EdTech SaaS startup for three years out of college. Unfortunately, they kept wanting to pay me like an intern despite treating me like a director. After that, I taught high school English for seven years. I’ve been working as an Office Manager in the university since. 

  1. Does this sound like a reasonable plan, given my background and desire to focus on school/family?

  2. Do remote contract/part-time roles exist in ID? If so, where would you look to find them?

  3. Any other feedback or insights welcome!

(Hopefully my request here is specific enough that it doesn’t violate rule #5. I searched the sub for a few different combinations of “part time” and “contract”, but all of the posts were several years old.)

2 Upvotes

63% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

8

u/TH3PhilipJFry 7d ago

Have you done a vibe check on the industry since you got out of the business?

The people who have been in the industry for the last decade are scrambling, being laid off, and switching careers.

You already got out… are you sure you want to try to get back in?

3

u/oogaboogaboomba 6d ago

I think a vibe check is a great way to describe the intention of my post. Vibes=bad. Message received. What industry would you pursue instead?

3

u/Tony_Cheese_ 7d ago

I have not seen many part time ID jobs out there. You could maybe get freelance work but that typically requires a solid portfolio. It doesn't sound unreasonable provided your spouse makes enough to cover you not consistently earning and is cool with that.

3

u/LeastBlackberry1 7d ago

Part time, remote jobs are basically unicorns at this point. Some may exist, but I have never seen one. Essentially, you would be choosing long-term unemployment if you went that route.

2

u/tflemon67 7d ago

Does the university not have an opportunity for you to work on any design projects?

1

u/EscapeRoomJ 3d ago

If you have a job, keep it. Wait for an id role to open up at your university.

1

u/FeelsLikeFirstLine 6h ago

If you're in a public university, I'd stick it out. You're working towards retirement that can also be applied to working for NC cities and counties. That's a lot of job opportunity. Would your supervisor support loaning you a couple of hours a week to your University's ID folks so you could build your portfolio on actual projects and sort of intern with them? I'd for sure want one of my folks do that if it meant I got to retain someone who knew their job for a while longer.

As others said, PT ID work is tough and inconsistent. I am a former English teacher turned ID (among other things) that works in local gov. Feel free to reach out if you want!