Considering Interior Design...Any Info Appreciatiated?

Question

I am considering getting a degree in Interior Design after I receive my Bachelor's from college. I LOVE decorating and I believe that this is something that I would TRULY enjoy! Can anyone please give me some info or suggestions on what steps I should take to persue my dream?

Also, I'm currently in Business Administration but I'm considering changing my major to General Studies.

Is there a different time table for someone that already has a degree?

Answer 1

Many college bachelor programs for interior design are 4.5 or 5 year programs. So right off the bat, you will be in school longer. You might consider a design major keeping your bus. ad. as a minor. Having a business background would be a huge boon to an interior design firm as a new employee.
Many states now have some sort of legislation about interior design practice. Generally, one has to have a degree from an accredited college, work for a specified number of years under the supervision of a licensed designer, pass a multi-stage test like the NCIDQ, pay a fee, and take a specified number of ongoing education classes annually.
You can type "your state Chapter, ASID" into your search engine to get some ideas about what the law is there.
There are two big branches--residential work and commercial work. Colleges generally steer students to commercial work as it is easier for them to get jobs straight out of college. Commercial work tends to be specialized--office space, hospitality, healthcare, institutional, educational, retail, restaurants, and so on. (I know a designer who does nothing but children's libraries. I also know one who does nothing by casinos.) The down side is that young designers tend to burn out fast in commercial, therefore there are always openings for the new graduates. These designers also tend to work for large architectural firms or large commercial design firms and interior designers are low man on the totem pole in those organizations.
Residential work is much more difficult to get started as a new graduate. Some furniture stores still have interior design departments and that is an excellent start--someone is feeding you clients and you have a wealth of resources. Other retail stores selling some segment of product, floor covering, window treatments, accessories will sometimes hire graduates, but these are really starter jobs. Big home builders will have some interior designers on staff helping home buyers select colors and finishes, again an okay starter job. Many, many residential interior designers tend to be 1-3 person businesses so they tend to not hire young assistants. Your best bet is to look in large cities for designers with good reputations. They will have bigger businesses and will be more likely to hire graduates. You will start by shadowing them and doing grunt work, but in time, they will allow you to deal with clients on portions of jobs and then will pass along small clients to you altogether.
The good news is that once you are able to start working with your own clients, it is the sort of work you can do full time or part time your entire career.
Expect to have to develop your own clientele regardless of which branch of design you select. Expect to spend a lot of time cultivating resouces for crafts people. (You can design stuff all day long, but if you can't get someone to fabricate/install it, your design is useless.)
You will have to have an excellent visual memory, killer communication skills, and be skilled at building consensus. (He wants a recliner in the living room and she doesn't. Or the business owner's wife wants baby blue in the office and it makes everyone else gag.) Oh, and you have to be able to sell. If you can't sell your services and product, then you don't get paid.
Developing new business while dealing with current projects, vendors, crafts people AND doing all the paperwork means you have to be self disiplined about time management and good at multi-tasking.
If you are a good business person, it can be a very lucrative career. If not, it's easy to sink fast.
Type "ASID" into your search engine for an overview of what design is about. Talk to some colleges with design departments and see who is hiring their graduates, (and how many graduates are getting jobs right away.) Talk to some designers in your community and see what they say.
In the meantime, get a part time job selling something and see if it comes easily or not. Dealing with customers can be invigorating or it can be frustrating. Better to find out now how you deal with them. Selling is a learned skill, but it has to be something you enjoy.
If possible, ask to shadow a designer for a few days to see what their days are like. Better yet, offer to work part time for free for a month or two to see what it's like inside the office/showroom.
Finally, companies who market TO designers are another option. Furniture manufacuters, flooring, lighting, accessories, paint, tile, stone vendors all need people who speak a designer's language to market to designers. It involves a great deal of travel, but you make friends with designers all over your area and if you build good relationships with the them, they may offer you work in their own offices. Good-luck.