Discovering New Pathways: Independent Consultancy and Career Pathways in Learning Technology

For this month’s blog profile, we are delighted to feature Ross Ward, Co-Chair of the Independent Consultancy & Careers Pathway Special Interest Group (SIG). Launched in September 2024, the SIG was established to showcase and explore a wide array of career pathways and independent consulting in the Learning Technology sector. In this post, we delve into Ross’s consultancy experience as he offers invaluable tips and advice for those considering a career change or starting out in the learning tech sector.

How has ALT been important to your career? 

ALT has always been there. When I started out, I was very much focused on the job at hand – on the projects, my department, and my institution. I didn’t spend much time thinking about the wider community at all. I became more aware of ALT as my role evolved and I began thinking more about how to advise colleagues, best practices, and new initiatives. My first ALTC was in Liverpool in 2017, and that was probably my first big connection to ALT and its members. Gaining CMALT in 2017 gave me the confidence to believe in my own abilities and experience. My entire career has been in Learning Technology, but having worked in a single institution for 14 years, I would say I suffered from imposter syndrome (not that it ever really goes away).

CMALT sparked the idea for me to set up my own business as a Freelance Learning Technology Specialist. It has been almost eight years since I formed my company, and now I want to share my experience with others who are interested in freelancing or consultancy. I’m also interested in connecting with others who have made similar leaps. This was my main motivation to submit my idea to form the Independent Consultancy & Careers Pathway Special Interest Group.

What do you find exciting about working with Learning Technology?

I love solving problems… that is always the exciting part. I love to truly understand the problem that an institution or a course has and think about the solutions that could help them. Sometimes the “shiny” technology can get in the way of truly understanding the problem. People can be fixated on implementing a technology because everybody else is, or because they have had a great sales pitch from a vendor. I prefer to make sure the problem is understood first and then see how the technology and the people supporting it can flourish. It can become all too easy in learning technology to forget there are people behind each of the usernames, the matriculation numbers, and the analytics. The part of my job I enjoy most is making sure we understand who we are creating these solutions for.

What can members look forward to from the SIG in the coming months?

It is really early days for us, so we are trying to establish who our SIG members will be and understand how we can create a community that serves and advocates for them. To kick things off, we have scheduled our “Unconference” on 21 March at 14:00. This event aims to have our first open discussion with potential members. We will set the scene for our aims, understand some of the key questions and areas of interest our members have (via a good old Padlet), and then have a chance to discuss and share. We will also curate a LinkedIn Group for members to join as a way of keeping up with interesting posts relevant to them. Finally, we will start a blog series, not too dissimilar to this one, where we will give members the opportunity to share their career stories. We know that there are some amazing stories out there about how people began or crafted their journeys into the world of Learning Technology. Ultimately, our goal is to share stories and experiences.

What are your key suggestions for those aiming to embark on a career in Learning Technology? What initial steps should they take to get started? 

For me, it has been serendipitous, so it’s hard to give advice. My career started via a work placement as a Computer Support Officer. I had the opportunity to work with hardware, software, web development, and multimedia production. It just so happened this coincided with one of the first fully online distance courses from the University of Edinburgh, the MSc in Neuroimaging. For many people I’ve chatted to, a career in Learning Technology was never the goal, it was a happy accident, so my advice is to keep your eyes, ears, and mind open to opportunities. There are so many skill sets that lend themselves to the various roles available in digital education. Be ready to diversify if the opportunity arises.

What advice would you give to someone transitioning from a traditional role to independent consultancy? 

First of all, trust your skills. If you are considering making the leap, you need confidence and faith in your abilities. After working in the industry for so many years, I have a wide breadth of skills and experiences. One of the challenges has been finding a niche. After a few years of working independently, I had to focus on some key areas I wanted to specialise in. This makes it easier to market your services and develop a richer portfolio of work.

When I first set out to be independent, I didn’t want to rely only on my existing contacts to create a false sense of success. I was strict with myself to look for projects outside of my network so as not to create a bubble for myself. This is challenging, it is hard to make new connections when working on projects, but it is also really rewarding as you get to meet new people and expand your CV.

What was the last thing you read or watched? 

I would so love to give a cool answer to this… but I can’t. The biggest benefit of working for yourself is that you can work flexibly. This is my primary motivation, it means I can have the work-life balance I want and spend time with my family. The flexibility means that sometimes you are working into the evening or catching up on life admin. TV time in the evening is usually a decompression moment. So, as much as there are some amazing gritty dramas out there right now (and I’ve watched a lot of them), most of the time I want something not too challenging. Something along the lines of ‘Sort Your Life Out’ does the job just fine for me.

If you were on a deserted island, what is the one thing you would take? 

Obviously, I shouldn’t give a survival or sentimental answer to this. The thing that springs to mind is my long-neglected surfboard. If I were on a deserted island, I could finally spend some time on my board and perhaps actually become semi-competent at it! I’m assuming it would be warmer than the North Sea… so I wouldn’t even need my wetsuit.

We hope you enjoyed hearing from one of our SIG chairs. To join the group and be kept up to date with the news and events, subscribe to the ALT-ICCPSIG mailing list. 

Future profiles will feature colleagues involved with Special Interest and Members Groups, CMALT holders, ALT Members, Trustees, assessors, apprentices and ALT staff. If you are a current member of ALT and would be interested in featuring in an upcoming post or want to recommend someone members would be interested in hearing from, please contact us at blog@alt.ac.uk.