Yi-Ting Chang, Ph.D.
🇺🇸 California, United States
STUDENT STORIES
Yi-Ting Chang
Learn how Yi-Ting graduated college, built her portfolio, and landed a new job.
MEET YI-TINGYi-Ting had just finished earning her Ph.D. and was working as an instructor and researcher for the Pennsylvania State University when she realized that she wanted more for her career. While she enjoyed her work at the university, she discovered that she was more interested in creating learning experiences, rather than research.
Yi-Ting envisioned herself working in an environment where she could work collaboratively with others to solve business problems and see the direct impacts of her work. But Yi-Ting knew she’d need help learning more about corporate L&D culture, along with the tools and processes, all of which she wasn’t exposed to in her academic job.
“Earning my Ph.D. and working as an instructor and researcher were great challenges, but my work felt isolating at times. Besides my students, I rarely had the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded colleagues to solve real-world problems. This led me to seek out a different career path into the world of instructional design.”
At this point, Yi-Ting started her search for how she could learn more about corporate L&D, along with the practical skill required for those types of roles. Yi-Ting evaluated several different programs before enrolling in The eLearning Designer’s Academy.
What she didn’t want was a program that only focused on one thing, like building a portfolio. Instead, she wanted something that focused on the whole design and development process—one where she could feel confident that her portfolio was backed with work samples that showcased her thoughtful design and tangible skills.
“The thing that really got me interested in Tim and The eLearning Designer’s Academy was how transparent and empathetic he is towards new folks, like me. Besides the fact that his program wasn’t just singularly focused on portfolios or learning Articulate Storyline—it was more holistic—he was someone I felt like I could really connect with and learn from. Additionally, Tim didn’t make false promises about salaries or job placement—he was focused on helping us build our skills.”
During Yi-Ting’s time in the program, in addition to her portfolio, she focused her efforts on learning the whole eLearning design and development process. Yi-Ting developed multiple projects, utilizing her personal interests to build a course on Taiwanese beef noodle soup, along with her academic knowledge to build a course on gender diversity.
Both during and after her time in the program, Yi-Ting used her one-on-one time with Tim to refine her resume and prepare for job interviews.
“What I gained most from the program was the one-on-one time and the weekly Zoom hangouts with Tim. We used that time to rewrite my resume and talk through the interview process. Tim was always available to help me or give feedback when I needed it. His constant guidance helped me feel more confident about myself and my skills as I started interviewing for different instructional design positions.”
The time and effort Yi-Ting put into developing her skills, building her confidence, and creating a portfolio helped her successfully transition into her new career. Yi-Ting now works as a training and communication specialist for a large technology company in San Francisco.
See How Tim Can Help You on Your eLearning Journey Today
- Learn how to become an eLearning designer by checking out this post from our blog.
- Start building and showcasing your skills by getting up and running with Articulate Storyline and building your eLearning portfolio with these collections of videos from our YouTube channel.
- Join us inside The eLearning Designer’s Community to connect with Tim and get feedback on your Articulate Storyline courses, your eLearning portfolio, resume, or anything else!
”I would recommend the eLearning Designer's Academy because Tim creates a transparent, empathetic, and generative learning environment—one that allows you to build instructional design skills and receive generous support. Both my peers and Tim provided constructive feedback as I worked to build my skills and portfolio. Their support helped me build confidence as I went through the intimidating process of transitioning into corporate learning and development. The community support, Tim's expert guidance, and 1:1 coaching are all why I was successful and why I'd recommend this program to anyone looking to get into instructional design or eLearning.
Yi-Ting Chang, Ph.D.Learning Experience Designer
