For academics seeking meaningful work beyond traditional faculty roles, educational technology offers a natural bridge between scholarly expertise and real-world impact.
This field allows you to apply your strengths in research, teaching, and learning design to roles that shape how education evolves across institutions, industries, and communities.
What Does a Career in Educational Technology Look Like?
A career in educational technology blends expertise in teaching and learning with the ability to design, implement, or support digital tools that improve education. Professionals in this field might develop online courses, manage learning technologies, train educators to use new tools, analyze learning data, or design innovative digital learning experiences.
Depending on the role, the work can be creative, technical, research-focused, or strategic—often offering a meaningful way to shape the future of learning inside and outside traditional academic settings.
5 EdTech Career Paths Paths
Educational Technologist
Educational Technologists are people who specialize in the integration of technology into educational practices and environments to enhance teaching and learning experiences. They leverage their expertise in educational theory, instructional design, and technology to develop and implement innovative learning solutions.
For example, I interviewed Dr. Miranda Melcher, who earned her PhD in War Studies at King’s College London but ultimately chose not to pursue a faculty career. Instead, she discovered the field of educational technology during the pandemic, when she became the go-to person in her department for helping professors transition to online teaching.
Now an Educational Technologist at City, University of London, she supports STEM faculty in using technology effectively in their teaching—from designing online sessions to navigating classroom tools and assessments. In our conversation, she explained how she found this career path, why academia wasn’t the right fit for her, and how her role helps bridge the gap between pedagogy and technology in higher education.
Startup Founder
Dr. Harrington shares her journey from academia to entrepreneurship, her vision for creating an AI-driven platform to explore the microbial world, and her mission to establish a common understanding of infections, antibiotics, and other concepts I’m still learning about!
Instructional Designer
Instructional designers create learning experiences and course materials for universities, companies, and online learning platforms. They apply learning science, curriculum design, and digital tools to build engaging, accessible, and outcomes-driven courses—both online and in-person. This role blends pedagogy, creativity, and technology without requiring classroom teaching.
It’s a strong fit for people transitioning out of academia because it builds directly on skills PhDs already have—teaching, research, and curriculum planning—while offering clearer career paths and more stable employment than tenure-track positions.
Learning & Development (L&D) Specialist
Learning & Development specialists design employee training programs, digital modules, and professional development pathways inside companies. They work on everything from onboarding to leadership development, often using e-learning tools and instructional strategies similar to those used in higher education.
For academics considering a pivot, L&D is appealing because it still involves teaching and designing learning experiences but in a corporate environment with strong career progression, better compensation, and significantly more flexibility than traditional academic roles.
Learning Experience (LX) or UX Researcher in Education
LX/UX researchers study how students, educators, and learners interact with digital tools, from LMS platforms to educational apps. They conduct interviews, usability testing, and data analysis to improve learning experiences and guide product development.
This path works well for those leaving academia because it leverages qualitative and quantitative research skills, analytical thinking, and user-focused inquiry—skills PhDs develop deeply—while offering an industry role that values evidence-based decision-making without requiring scholarly publishing.
EdTech Books Suggestions
If you’re exploring careers beyond the traditional academic track, the edtech space offers a wide range of opportunities that still tap into your strengths in teaching, research, and learning design. Whether you enjoy building curriculum, studying how people learn, or improving digital tools in higher education, there are many roles that value the skills you’ve already developed during your PhD.
Edtech is a great place for academics who want meaningful, impact-driven work without the pressures of publishing or the instability of the tenure-track job market.
Design for How People Learn — Julie Dirksen
A practical, approachable guide to learning science and design; essential for new instructional designers.
E-Learning and the Science of Instruction — Ruth Clark & Richard Mayer
Research-driven principles for building effective online learning.
Understanding by Design — Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe
The classic on backward design, used across education and corporate learning.
Don’t Make Me Think — Steve Krug
A short, sharp introduction to usability principles that apply directly to LMS design, e-learning modules, and learning apps.
About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design — Alan Cooper et al.
A deeper dive into interaction design patterns and user behavior.
The Art of Explanation — Lee LeFever
Excellent for learning how to simplify complex ideas—key for course design and learner communication.
Where Can I Find EdTech Jobs?
If you’re exploring careers in edtech, Skip EdTech Job Listings is a great place to find current opportunities. You can also view a selection of these roles on the After Your PhD job listings page.
Take a moment to browse—your next career move might be just a click away. Whether you’re seeking a role in curriculum design, learning experience strategy, educational research, or product development, you’ll find a wide range of positions that match your expertise.
New opportunities are added frequently, so checking back often can help you stay ahead in a fast-moving field. Start exploring today and move one step closer to meaningful, impactful work in education.
Disclaimer: After Your PhD partners with Skip and is part of the Amazon. When you use our links, After Your PhD may earn a small commission, always at no additional cost to you.
Ryan Collins PhD is an SEO Strategist at Go Fish Digital. Ryan completed his PhD in Media Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington in 2021. During his time at Indiana University, Ryan eventually pivoted into a career in SEO and Digital Marketing after having informational interviews with working professionals in SEO, working on side projects, and gaining industry experience.