Interior Design Career Guide

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Career Guide / Interior Design Careers

What does it mean to study Interior Design?

Interior designers plan interior spaces and creatively shape these spaces to please their clients. Designers must have an architectural bent beyond what's expected of interior decorators, as they must know how space functions, not just whether it looks good. Interior design is a stable career path that grows with the economy.

What kind of person makes a good Interior Designer?
If you can shape your artistic visions of interiors to achieve practical results, you're well on your way to having an interior design career. You'll need to have good communication skills, both visual and verbal, since designers have to understand their clients' wishes. You'll need to be able to meet deadlines, and work on your own. If you're the kind of person who can do five things at once, you won't feel overwhelmed by the multi-tasking necessary to bring designs to life.

Studying to become an Interior Designer
You'll need a degree in interior design, which covers not only style, but aspects of interior architecture, safety, computer-aided drawing, and an internship. Ideally, you'll study at a FIDER-accredited school. Interior design is the only design career field in which you have to be state licensed. You'll take an exam, once you have six years combined study and design experience. You should think about joining the student branch of American Society of Interior Designers, too.

What's it like to have an Interior Design career?
You may become a self-employed designer, or have your own interior design shop, especially if you've got an entrepreneurial spirit. You might work for a design firm. Designers have careers creating interiors for businesses, hospitals, government buildings, and private residence. Rarely is design a 9-5 career. You'll need to be flexible, patient, and persistent to get your design career off the ground. Then, you'll make anywhere from $30,000-$50,000 a year.

Sources
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Exploring Careers. JIST Publishing, Inc. 2003