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| How do I decide if an interior design career is right for me? |
I think the three areas that
should investigate, in order to make an intelligent decision would be education,
experience and accreditation.
1. Education. If you are
starting to give any thought to college, you might want investigate which schools have
accredited programs. One place to look would be the FIDER (Foundation for Interior Design
Education and Research) web site: FIDER. From my
experience, employers who are looking for new employees are most interested graduates of
accredited and/or well know schools.
2. Experience. What type of
experience could you acquire before you go to college? Well, if you want to work
part-time, you might want to look for a job with a store that sells interior products.
Does your high school offer any classes that are oriented towards design or drafting?
Being able to sketch or draft you ideas is very important.
3. Accreditation. I don't
know if you are aware that the interior design field has exams to acquire accreditation,
just like lawyers and architects, etc. Designers take a written exam one day, and solve a
design problem both graphically and in writing the next. The exam is currently administer
by the National Council for Interior Design Qualification, NCIDQ.
Designers usually join a professional
association, such as ASID: American Society of Interior
Designers or IIDA: The International Interior Design
Association. We cannot put the initials of these organizations behind our names until
we have passed the NCIDQ Exam. In order to maintain accreditation, designers must also
complete a minimum of 10 hours of CEU's (Continuing Education Units) each year.
In addition to all the information you'll find
at the above sites, here's a cool site I found when researching your question: http://www.askjeeves.com/.
You might also want to give some thought to
what type of design you would like to specialize in, such as residential or commercial,
lighting, retail, restaurants, health care, etc.
Finally, magazines and books are always fun to
explore. |
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| Do you have any recommendations for someone who is wanting to get into this
career? |
| First of all, start taking
courses related to the profession, inside or outside school, i.e., art, drafting, etc. I
think this will help you determine what you really want to do. Secondly, look for
part-time employment in the field. Places you might consider are large home products
stores, furniture stores, wallpaper and paint suppliers, etc. Finally, develop computer
literacy. I believe computers will play a large part in interior design in the future. (I
have learned how to use AutoCAD, as well as, other interior design software programs.) |
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