I decided that I would look in the open job market rather than in something specifically tailored to our profession, such as ASTD; for this, I went with http://www.monster.com/.
There was not much to be found in the Greensboro area, so I decided to look where a wealth of money flows into lucrative government contracts: Washington, DC. It did not disappoint. After looking at several jobs, I found this one at a company called ICF International out of Chantilly, VA. The position is that of a Senior Instructional Systems Designer serving the United States Marine Corps as a client.
The position would involve designing and developing instructional materials such as instructor-led training, e-Learning solutions, job aids, scenario case studies, and on-the-job training with high levels of innovation and creativity. The position would be very project oriented in the ISD ADDIE model.
The position requires at least 9 to 11 years of instructional design and experience and a Master’s degree in Instructional Design, Education or a related field. Additional requirements are experience working with Federal agencies and the Department of Defense.
When I first looked at this I thought, "I am woefully under qualified for this position." But upon further review, I satisfied myself with the knowledge that I have done many of the things in the job description and done them well. I also have experience with the Department of Defense from my time in the Navy. Where I am lacking is in sheer volume of experience and degree credentials. As I am not in a Master's program (I am working towards a Performance Improvement Certificate), I'm not sure I would ever quite meet the qualifications, unless I could sell them on my experience and abilities and relegate the degree requirements to "nice to have."
I can definitely say that I would enjoy the challenges of a position like this and that living in the Washington, DC area would be kind of fun, provided I lived near Quantico where the bulk of the work would take place. I would certainly want to minimize commuting in the D.C. area as much as possible.
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8 comments:
This job sounds interesting. I'm not a big fan about the location (DC area). I just moved from that area because of the overcrowded stressful environment. But you have a good point that there are plenty of opportunities there! This position is definitely a good one to consider.
Perhaps seeing all of the opportunites possible will encourage you to get the Masters degree. It really isn't that much more work and think of all of the benefits!
I also noticed that many of the jobs required relocation. You probably could sell them on your experience and abilities, but you should really finish the degree. Especially if it is only a few more classes.
The experience requirement seems really long (especially for a government job! :-) I was married in the Quantico area when my husband was a Marine and it's a fairly nice area, not as congested as DC (at least it wasn't 20-some years ago.)
I should point out, for the record, that I'm not actually looking for a new job. This was just an interesting posting. I'm quite happy where I am at this time, great job, great boss, great teammates. That being said, I value all of your comments.
I was also a little surprised by the amount of qualifications needed for the position. I guess they want someone that really knows their stuff.
This is why so many people change jobs so often. Many jobs require years of experience, which encourages you to leave where you currently work. I read recently that the average student today will have 19 jobs by the time they are 28. Ouch for the loyalty aspect.
19 by the age of 28? Wow! I knew that younger generations were more likely to change jobs that past generations, but I didn't realize the revolving door was spinning quite so fast. How does one stay at a given place long enough to aquire any marketable skills, besides proficiently filling out online job applications?
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