My Future (Current?) Career

If I told you I researched the steps of becoming interior designer at the age of 12 would you believe me? Well I hope you do because almost everything I will mention in this post is from my eighth grade career day presentation.

This post will be a quick overview of what Interior Design is, what Interior Designers do, and the steps to take to become one.

What is an Interior Designer

“Interior design is all about how we experience spaces. It’s a powerful, essential part of our daily lives and affects how we live, work, play, and even heal. Comfortable homes, functional workplaces, beautiful public spaces—that’s interior design at work.”

Interior designers are creative, imaginative and artistic. They also need to be disciplined, organized and skilled business people. As an advocate for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, ARTS, and math) education, I believe that interior design is a great example of a career path that bridges all disciplines into one. Combining technical knowledge with aesthetic vision, interior designers work with clients and other design professionals to develop design solutions that are safe, functional, attractive and meet the needs of the people using the space.

Career Preparation

Interior designers are either licensed or certified to practice, much like a doctor or architect. In order to sit for the licensing test through NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Qualification), I must have a combination of four years in a accredited university or college plus two years of work experience. The test has 3 sections: the Fundamentals Exam (IDFX), the Professional Exam (IDPX), and the Practicum Exam (PRAC). The IDFX can be taken in your final year of your Bachelor or Masters degree and the IDFX and IDPX can be taken after two years of work experience.

**All NCIDQ Exam Eligibility Paths can be found here

Before dedicating four years of college to studying something you might not really have interest in, it is always advised to get internships to see if interior design is really for you. (Honestly this goes for all majors) I have a couple of classmates, who in our final year of the program decided that they really did not like interior design as much as they thought.

Job Search

Job Description

Honestly, this is the ideal job description for a recent graduate. 1+ years of experience?? When most entry level jobs ask for 3-5 years! I literally jumped out of my seat when I saw this.

Designers seeking employment must know:

- Salaries (based on experience and qualifications)

- Regional cost of living

- Employee benefits

- Employee retirement plans

Endless Opportunities

There are multiple employment opportunities. Here is a list of 20 options that do not include working as a residential or commercial designer:

1. Retail Specialty Store (residential/retail furniture, etc.)

2. Department Store

3. Manufacturer

4. Facility Management

5. Federal Government

6. Universities and Colleges

7. CAD Specialist

8. Professional Renderers

9. Model Builders

10. ADA Accessibility Compliance Consultant

11. Sales Representative

12. Architectural Photographer

13. Product Designer

14. Specification Writer

15. Construction Industry

16. Journalism

17. Installation Supervisors or Contract Administrators

18. Interior Design Management

19. Merchandising

20. Graphics and Way-finding