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Hi all, I first off want to thank you for this informative conversation. I have been trying to do research on becoming an interior designer for a few months now. I think want I want is to go more of the way of an interior decorator. Do any of you have advice on what would be the best way to go about that. I live in a state where there isn't much need and I am more than willing to move. I was looking at Arizona and there are a couple of schools that offer a AAS/AA in interior design but with what you all have been saying, that may not be worth my time. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks.
Endersdrift, you offer a great perspective, but it is not the only one. I am Interior Designer who has taken and passed the NCIDQ exam, with only an AAS and 3rd year professional certificate, both obtained through a community college.
Look at NCIDQ.org testing requirements, you need six years COMBINED education and experience. You do NOT need a four year degree. I think you will find that most designers agree that an Interior Designer is a educated individual, a decorator does not necessarily have formal training in Interior Design. It also depends on the state you live in. To call yourself an Interior Designer, some states require that you take the NCIDQ exam. Not all states require this, which is unfortunate, as it acts as a great benchmark. When I took the exam, I did not live in a state that required this exam. But, I took it for my own professional development.
I think you need to be careful about gross generalizations. My education was on par to those students coming out of WSU. In fact, I placed 2nd in an Interior Design competition run by ASID that included students from the same community college and surrounding four year universities.
I investigated before deciding on my route of education. Knowing that I was paying for my own education played a part in my decision. I compaired the program and the instructors (some of who were also instructors at WSU). I found the program to be very similar, short of the required courses, such as: math/English etc...
Upon graduation and starting work at an Architectural firm, I found out that my education was indeed a good base and served me well.
I did go on about five years later to finish a four year degree for the personal satisfaction of having a Bachelors. It might be interesting for you...the classes I needed to take? All the prerequisites, biology, philosophy, math, literature - not ONE interior design course.
I can now say that I have 18 years experience as an Interior Designer, working on assisted living, nursing homes, tenant improvements, colleges, churches and even some residential in there. I do not feel any less knowledgeable or skilled because my original degree came from a Comminity College. I felt well prepared and I was well versed in the principles of Interior Design as well as the current building codes, etc...
Couggal gave some great advice (based on her name, we may be referring to the same school). To make a long story short, you need to look through the program to determine if it is a good fit and that it will leave you prepared to enter into the Interior Design field.
Good luck. I love design as much as I did when I started out. I love to see the excitement from new and prospective students!
I'm debating if I should go back to the local community college to get a AAS for either Graphic Design or Interior Design. I already have a Associates in BA and a Bachelor's in BA concentration in IT. My goal is to start my own business in GD or IT, already having a business degree.
Right now, I have free time to earn the degree but I'm wondering if that will be enough to put me on my way to starting a career in either profession.
The ID program has a internship for 2 semester that provide experience. Anyone had any experiences?
In terms of obtaining a ob right after graduation, it's difficult without a BA.
However, if this is something that you love and want to learn more about, go for it!
It's possible to get a job as a decorator. Actually, I know someone who did just that at a high send furniture store. She loves her job, and she goes to people homes, assists them in their purchases of furniture, and home accessories.
So, if something like that interests you, or you are willing to obtain a BA or BFA, then by all means do it.
I find this conversation very interesting. First, let me say that I have a BA in Interior Design, I have practiced commercial interior design for 20 years, am an NCIDQ certified designer and have been teaching in a community college interior design program for 10 years. When you say that an AAS degree is worthless, I would say that it absolutely depends on the program. The program where I teach, and have been department chair for 5 years, is an incredibly difficult degree program. We have a two year AAS degree, a three year professional diploma degree and an articulation agreement with an outstanding university program where our students can earn their BA in one additional year, we are currently working on two other articulation pathways (for emphasis in visual design and business), and we are exploring the possibility of a BAS degree on our campus. Our program is outstanding and is held to the CIDA standards since we articulate into an accredited program - in fact, we lose students every year who think it is a decorating program not an interior design program. I appreciate the comments and the knowledge expressed, but if you are considering any kind of interior design degree - seek out more information from the schools and programs themselves, you might be surprised by what you find.
I truly appreciate your post. Honestly I refused to believe that a AAS degree would be worthless. I have a bachelor in science degree in a different major and simply didn't feel I had to go back for another 4 year degree for interior design. I was really considering an associate degree and had plan to obtain many certificates in all other aspects of interior design plus hands on experience.....
Do not get a degree in graphic design unless you are committed to doing only websites and interactive, etc. Those are the ONLY jobs now. Print design is dead and most graphic designers freelance only now.
What planet are you on?
1) First, there is still a need for print, albeit much less than digital. Print will never go away completely.
2) Digital is also a legit area for graphic designers. I mean, who makes the websites look good? Have you ever picked up a Communication Arts Interactive Annual?
3) There are lots of design studies and ad agencies that employ graphic designers. Even then, I know a number of graphic designers. The good ones pull down a lot of coin.
Back to the OP. I would find a really good BA program in graphic design. An AA won't cut it. Either that or hie thyself to a place like the Portfolio Center or the Creative Circus. But don't screw around in a community college. It's a great place to learn welding and air conditioning repair, but a bad place to learn graphic design.
Unless you live in a large city and/or are willing to work for peanuts, Interior Design/Interior Architecture is a poor choice. The market is flooded with many art degrees that are not respected and do not enable one to make a decent living. For every interior designer that is successful in making anything close to a livable wage, I'll bet there are thousands who either scrape for a low salary or can't find work. Many architects struggle to make $50,000/year. I owned an Interior Design business for 20 years and have a bachelor's degree in Interior Architecture from an "accredited" university, which I attended as an adult. The program was helpful to me in that it taught basic drafting and c.a.d. and provided basic familiarity with lighting and codes; however, the vast majority of courses were useless electives that colleges require to make you "a more well rounded person". Previous to attending, I researched and read codes and A.D.A. regulations all by my lonesome, lol. Anyone can be well rounded by reading and experiencing in life without being forced to fork over tens of thousands of dollars for these courses. There should be zero need for NCIDQ exams if these institutions provided all the education to students while they are actually in school, instead of putting grads in the precarious position of attempting to get jobs with architects or "licensed" designers, then take a costly, subjective exam in order to make a living. What good were the countless exams I took in my "accredited University's" Interior Architecture program, if A.S.I.D. still isn't satisfied and wants me to further prove myself? What they don't tell these students is that they may not be able to obtain such employment and that A.S.I.D. has been referred to as a "cartel" that profits from certain designers trying to eliminate competition by placing ridiculous hurdles in front of anyone attempting to enter or remain in the field. EMT's and engineers are not required to do what these horrible people are attempting to saddle designers with. This is why they have only succeeded in passing this legislation in 3 out of 50 states. If there is something missing from the education one receives in a certified program, then I think it is the responsibility of the university or college to provide it. If internship is required, then the university or college should provide that as well. Endless examination and "continuing ed" are not necessary to draft and do space planning, select fabrics, finishes, colors, etc. A basic familiarity with codes that you receive in school and a code book at your fingertips to use, if commercial design is your forte, is better than relying on memory. Interior Designers are not permitted to make structural changes anyway. No other "business" can get away with the nonsense that goes on in the industry of education (i.e. "tenure"). My advice is to run like the wind from a career in Interior Design.
I have a relative who graduated in 2011 with a Graphic Design degree. She does both free lance and is employed with an advertising agency in a big city. She has always been employed. The pay isn't great ($55k - $60k with benefits) but steady.
Hmm when going into any creative field, the journey will always be harder than lets say the conventional "I want to be an engineer, I want to be a nurse etc..." namely because a lot of people want to work in the creative, in the fun type job-just bear that in mind. X ad agency may be only bringing on 2-3 intern graphic designers or copy writers for the summer, but I guarantee you will have a large surplus amount of applicants eager for experience.
I don't know about interior design but from the graphic design positions I have seen, there seems to be a heavy want of applicants to be web savvy. That is know how to html, css, know some of the front end stuff, it's not just mastering Photoshop, Illustrator and In Design anymore. Again the competition for a graphic design position is very intense, have a back up plan. Are you willing to work a "boring" job while applying for the graphic design roles, are you willing to do the mind numbing data entry or clerical stuff?
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Don't discount AAS degrees without investigation
