How Much Do Instructional Designers Make in 2026?

Looking to start your journey in becoming an instructional designer in 2026? Download the free Become an ID checklist: https://www.devlinpeck.com/become-an-id-checklist How much are instructional designers actually making in the field? We asked over 600 working IDs to share their current annual earnings with us so you could see the financial payoff for yourself. In this week’s video, we take a deep dive into the results and uncover things like: full-time vs. freelance earnings, industry averages across corporate, non-profit, and higher-ed roles, and salary based on location, years of experience, and education level. Oh, and plot twist: those with Master's degrees reported salaries on par with those carrying a Bachelor's alone. Check out the full 2024 Instructional Designer Salary Report: https://www.devlinpeck.com/content/instructional-designer-salary Learn more about the ID Bootcamp: https://www.devlinpeck.com/bootcamp IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not financial advice and this video does not make any claims about how much you should or should not charge for your services. As a new instructional designer, you can earn higher and lower amounts than the average salary data that we’ll look at today. Using the affiliate links below will help support me and the content on this channel: ***Best AI Tools for Instructional Designers*** Synthesia: https://www.synthesia.io/?via=devlin WellSaid Labs: https://www.wellsaidlabs.com/?via=devlin Descript: https://www.descript.com/?lmref=jJTSTA Jasper: https://jasper.ai/?fpr=devlin44 ***Best Laptops for Instructional Designers*** Dell XPS 13: https://amz.run/6l1w 16-inch MacBook Pro: https://amz.run/6l1y Gigabyte Aero 17: https://amz.run/6l26 ***Best Books for Instructional Designers*** The Non-Designer’s Design Book: https://amzn.to/3kP0reO Map It: https://amzn.to/3f137mR eLearning and the Science of Instruction: https://amzn.to/3kNuBiF Design For How People Learn: https://amzn.to/3CLtrNM Michael Allen’s Guide to eLearning: https://amzn.to/31ZUbJB 0:00 Intro 0:16 Salary by Country 1:10 US Earnings 2:38 Salary by Industry 3:36 Salary by Education 5:12 Salary by Experience 6:08 Bootcamp Salary 7:17 Conclusion