Interior Designer

Career Overview

Interior designers make indoor spaces functional, safe, and beautiful by determining space requirements and selecting essential and decorative items.

Education

A four-year bachelor's degree in interior design, drawing, computer-aided design, or a related field is necessary to obtain this position. A higher degree (master's) in a related field, which may take an additional two-three years to earn, would be more valuable.

Future Outlook

Employment of interior designers is projected to decline 5 percent from 2019 to 2029. There may be some demand created by new construction, but opportunities for self-employed interior designers to renovate existing homes, commercial buildings, and other facilities should be limited.

Work Environment

Many interior designers work for the specialized design services industry or for the architectural, engineering, and related services industry. About 25% are self-employed. This job may require meeting with customers on evenings and weekends.

Recommended High School Courses

Psychology
Math
Art
Business
Graphic Arts
Graphic Design
Photography
Computer-aided Design Competency

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Plan facility layouts or designs.
Coordinate construction or installation activities.
Inspect facilities or sites to determine if they meet specifications or standards.
Draw detailed or technical illustrations.
Confer with clients to determine needs.
Estimate costs for projects or productions.
Present work to clients for approval.
Review details of technical drawings or specifications.
Conduct research to inform art, designs, or other work.
Incorporate green features into the design of structures or facilities.
Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.
Select materials or props.
Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes.

Schools

Abilene Christian Univers...

Alfred State College

American River College

Appalachian State Univers...

Arizona State University

Auburn University

Ball State University

Baylor University

Berkeley College Online

Bob Jones University

Bowling Green State Unive...

Brenau University

Brigham Young University-...

Cal Poly Pomona

California Institute Of T...

Clary Sage College

Cuyahoga Community Colleg...

Drexel University

East Carolina University

El Centro College- Dallas...

Fairfield University

Fashion Institute Of Tech...

Florida International Uni...

Florida State University

Judson University

Kansas State University-...

Kent State University

Lanier Technical College-...

Massachusetts Bay Communi...

Montana State University-...

Oakland Community College

Ohio State University-mai...

Palm Beach State College-...

Parsons School Of Design

Penn Foster Career School

Pittsburg State Universit...

Pratt Institute

Rhode Island School Of De...

Salem College

Savannah College Of Art A...

Suny College Of Human Eco...

Syracuse University

The New School- Nyc Campu...

Thomas Jefferson Universi...

University Of Cincinnati

University Of The Incarna...

University Of Wisconsin-...

Weber State University- D...

Academy Canada- St. Jo...

Bow Valley College- Do...

Centre For Arts And Te...

Dawson College

Fanshawe College- Lond...

George Brown College-...

Herzing College- Montr...

Ics Canada

Kwantlen Polytechnic I...

Kwantlen Polytechnic U...

Lakeland College- Verm...

Lasalle College- Laval...

Lasalle College- Montr...

Lasalle College- Vanco...

Maritime Business Coll...

Mount Royal University...

Ocad University

Okanagan College- Pent...

Professional Career De...

Sprott Shaw Community...

Universite De Montreal...

University Of Moncton

Yorkville University-...

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Curt Pozan Trades Scholar...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$31,970.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$56,040.00 /yr

High End:

$96,470.00 /yr

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References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.