Interior Design: Career Prospects, Education & Salary

Whether it is a residential place or commercial, interior designers are expertly trained to design all these and much more. Right from the combination of colors to furniture to lighting effects, these professionals know it all and use a variety of skills to make it leave a wonderful effect on all. Interior designers, while performing their work, also need to abide by a set of rules, regulations and guidelines. They also take into considerations important elements like safety and general aesthetics. Those who aspire to make a career in interior designing may also choose to specialize in an area of their interest. Over the past few years, the occupation has evolved a lot and professionals have many more responsibilities to handle, apart from designing and decoration.

Interior designers work in close contact with licensed engineers and architects. Architectural detailing, remodeling, redecorating and ground up modeling are all a part of the interior designer's job responsibilities. Whatever project you have in mind, interior designing professionals are quite well versed to guide you through the entire design and decoration procedure.

Interior designers' roles and responsibilities also include reading blueprints, understanding fire and safety codes and comprehending building codes among others. In order to successfully derive the design, professionals also need to possess a strong sense of aesthetics. They should have the capability to understand what defines a space.

Interior Designing Procedure
The typical design process remains consistent, notwithstanding the type of the project or space designers handle. To begin with, these professionals first come up with a master plan for the project they take up. The interior designer, therefore, should have the ability to identify the actual requirements and perform the documentation work, referred to as the programming phase. It is very essential to understand what the client is really looking for.

To understand the clients specific requirements, interior designers have a preliminary session where they discuss the needs and prerequisites. The scope of the work, functioning and budgetary considerations become clear in this preliminary meeting. Next, the designer makes a visit to the site where interior designing has to be done. After reviewing the site and taking the measurements, designers also use special software called Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) to do their work efficiently. After the designer has formulated a design plan, they propose the budget that would go in the completion of the project. It is only after several meetings with the clients and confirmation that the actual work begins.

Education & Degrees Required
A bachelor's degree in interior designing is the standard requirement to make a career in this field. Students can also get enrolled into education programs which has postsecondary educational program accreditation. There are several professional art schools and design colleges that offer courses and degree programs in the field of interior designing. The National Association of School of Arts and Design have given accreditation to more than 200 schools whereas the National Council for Interior Design Accreditation has given accreditation to more than 140 bachelor degree programs across the United States.

To make the most of their careers, candidates also need to fulfill some licensure requirements, which may vary from one US state to another. The license is offered by the National Council of Interior Design Qualification. To obtain the license, candidates need to pass an exam, which can be had after 6 years of educational training and working experience under a licensed architect or designer. After successfully passing this state exam, the designer would be labeled as a Certified Interior Designer.

Career Prospects for Interior Designers
There are diverse career possibilities that you can choose from. While choosing to become an interior designer, you can either become a home decorator or specialize in a niche of your interest. Some of the possibilities you can choose from include hospitality, office planning, healthcare, space planning etc. If you want to work towards reducing the environmental pollution, you can concentrate on green design. The interior design industry offers you multiple career options to choose from.

Annual Salary
The salary of an interior designer varies according to the working experience and the type of employer they work for. Many of these designers are self employed and their annual income depends on the number of clients they cater to. Those who are employed with an architectural design firm earn an average starting annual salary of $35,000. With growing working experience and skill set, you can earn higher salary.

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